Unlucky 13
by Nemo-of-Rayne
Summary: When JJ's cousin wishes her away, she has 13 hours to find her way through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered to regain her freedom. Not a JarethXOC pairing, I promise.
1. The Wish

_In which the right words are said._

_I do not own Labyrinth._

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**The Wish**

"Jeremy Tyler Carter, you are so dead!!"  
The giggles of a hyperactive six year old could be heard up in his bedroom as July Ana Jones tried to pull herself up the stairs of her Uncle's two storey Victorian home.  
She glanced down at the main cause of her problems: her left ankle, wrapped in a brace that kept it immobile.  
Only a few days previous, she'd been in her garage, up on a ladder to put away a tool kit after working on her car. On her way off the ladder, she'd slipped, caught her left foot in a rung, and twisted her ankle badly, tearing her Achilles tendon.  
JJ's uncle Karl had a business meeting out of town, and he'd asked JJ to stay the night with Jeremy. JJ had agreed to do so, and now here she was, limping up a flight of stairs to reclaim her stolen crutches, plotting ways to torment the six year old, and muttering curses under her breath.  
She finally made it to Jeremy's bedroom, and while the boy was happily bouncing on his bed, the crutches were nowhere in sight.  
JJ growled, "Jeremy, where did you put them?"  
He giggled, "Goblins took 'em."  
The redhead took a deep breath, steadying her temper, "Jeremy," she said, "I'm going to give you to the count of five. Either you bring my crutches to me, or I'll--"  
"Goblins took 'em!"  
"There are no such things as goblins, kid, now if I--"  
"There are, and I'll prove it to you!"  
JJ rubbed her pounding head, "No, there are not. The count of five, Jeremy. One, two--"  
The six year old jumped off of his bed and pointed at her, "I wish the Goblins would come and take you away, JJ! Right NOW!"  
The lights flickered and died, plunging the entire house into darkness.  
JJ growled, "Great. Don't worry, Jeremy, it's probably just a blown fuse. I'll go and… Jeremy?"  
She paused, waiting for a response, and trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness. When neither came, she reached out a hand to feel for the doorjamb that should've been just behind her shoulder. Her fingers met nothing, and she stumbled, putting weight on her injured ankle, and falling with a startled cry of pain, and suddenly the lights came back on.

The fact that she was no longer in Jeremy's room was painfully obvious. The flagstone floor she'd landed on was completely devoid of the brown carpet and the Spiderman play mat that should have been beneath her and it scraped the palms of her hands roughly, .  
In the center of the large room was a shallow pit, and in this pit was piled a mass of strange brown creatures that stared at JJ with wide eyes in varying shades of gold and red.  
JJ froze, staring back, noting that, although not a single one of them seemed to be over four feet tall, many of them had sharply pointed teeth, while others carried rusted swords.  
The redhead slowly pushed herself to her knees, wanting desperately to be on her feet but hindered by the pain in her ankle. She put some pressure on it, and unwillingly cried out as sent waves of agony up her leg.  
At the sound of her distress, several of the creatures climbed out of the hole and hesitantly moved towards her.  
The largest stretched his big, hippo-like mouth into a grin, his lips curling around tusks that were capped with tarnished silver that had Celtic designs engraved into them.  
As he reached out for JJ, she scooted away from him, but the other creatures surrounded her, all matching the big one's grin.  
He (at least, she assumed it was a he) bent slightly, wrapping his stubby arms around JJ's waist, and to her surprise, lifted her to her feet with a strength that she wouldn't have thought he was capable of.  
Unwilling to put weight on her injured ankle, JJ started to lose her balance, but the creatures that surrounded her kept her from toppling over. They pushed and pulled with clawed hands, but managed to keep from scratching her at all.  
When the idea that they were helping her fully clicked in her brain, JJ smiled at them, "Thank you," she said, twisting to include all of them, "Thank you so much."  
"Perdy lady's hurt," the big creature said in a slow, deep voice, "Hurt yer foot, perdy lady?"  
When she nodded, the smaller creatures began insisting in squeaky voices that she had to sit down, and led her to a dais at the other end of the room, on which sat a peculiarly shaped chair that JJ hesitantly labeled a throne.  
The creatures pushed her gently down onto it, but one of the ones still lingering in the pit piped up, "Kingy's seat, won't he mind?"  
"Nah," one of the ones at her feet answered, "Kingy no mind. He's a big softy."  
"I'm Gurk," the big one said shyly, still grinning at her.  
The others followed suit with introductions, and JJ gave them her name, before asking, "Where am I?"  
A tired voice from above and behind her answered, "The castle beyond the Goblin City, at the center of the Labyrinth. Didn't you read the book?"  
JJ turned to find a cat lounging across the curved back of the throne-- no, not a cat. His ears were far too large, as were his jade eyes, and his forepaws were adorned with four dexterous digits, three fingers and a thumb. His tail was long, and tufted at the end like a lion's, and a star-shaped patch of creamy fur spread across his otherwise tawny chest.  
Although his back legs were tucked underneath him like a cat, he rested his head on one paw, his elbow braced against the back of the throne, while his other paw combed his whiskers.  
He smiled at her, smugly, and JJ scowled back, "That would depend on which book you're talking about."  
"The Labyrinth of course. Our story. Not many read it these days. Surprising to see an adult wished away, I don't think that's happened before. How'd you manage it?"  
JJ sighed, her scowl softening, "My cousin. He's six. He stole my crutches and then told me that Goblins had taken them away. I didn't believe him and he said he'd prove it." she glanced around the room before smiling dryly, "I guess he did… who are you?"  
The cat-creature chuckled, "I'm Nobbiggo, one of his majesty's royal advisors. And you, my dear, are sitting in his throne."  
Gurk huffed, "Lady hurt her foot, she needed a place to sit. Kingy won't mind."  
"Oh won't he?" said a smooth voice from the doorway.  
The goblins scattered, disappearing as swiftly as ninjas, though perhaps not as silently. The only one who did not flee the scene was Nobbiggo, and he calmly smirked over JJ's shoulder.  
JJ turned to face the speaker, and was startled to find that he stood directly before her, though there was no way he could have walked from the doorway to the throne in that amount of time.  
JJ swallowed a yelp and studied him, carefully schooling her face into a blank expression.

He was tall, with wild golden hair, dressed in what appeared to be a leather breastplate, a ragged black cloak fastened over his shoulders with a high curved collar that framed his elegantly carved face.  
A thin mouth was curved into a smirk, and mismatched eyes sparkled mischievously beneath exotically upswept eyebrows.  
His eyelids were darkened with eye shadow, which swept down the sides of his nose, giving him a decidedly bird-like appearance, and strangely, the effect suited him quite well. In fact, JJ was irritated to find herself thinking him to be quite handsome in a very strange, even alien way.

He stood on the stairs leading to the throne, one foot a few steps above the other so his knee was bent, upon which he rested an elbow, somehow managing to look fiercely intimidating yet casually amused at the same time.  
"Well," he said, in a voice that was like silk against rough stone, "What have we here?"  
"July Ana Jones," JJ answered, quite proud of the way she managed to keep her voice steady, despite the fact that her hands would be trembling if they were not clenching the seat of the throne.  
The man's smirk turned into a grin, and that frightened JJ even more, "Well then, July Ana Jones," he said, somehow managing to make her name sound like a mockery, "Congratulations. You've found yourself a place in my kingdom. I see you've made your acquaintance with some of your fellow subjects, and they seem to have made you quite comfortable."  
"Please," JJ said, "There's been some sort of mistake. Just send me home."  
The man laughed, a sound that would have been delightful had it not had such a cruel edge to it, "I'm afraid you are home now, my lovely. Your cousin wished you away, and has declined the option to run the Labyrinth to reclaim you."  
JJ's irritation spiked up, "Wait... Labyrinth? Of course he refused, you can't expect a six year old to run a _labyrinth!_"  
The man continued as if she'd not spoken, "And seeing as how you have no other champions to run for you, you now belong to me."  
The last part of the statement shocked JJ into a temporary silence, and she stared at the strange man with a blank look that was not pretended.  
He reached over and casually took a curl of her long red hair between his fingers, "I must say, you're taking this well. Most humans would be screaming, in denial, or unconscious by now."  
Irked by the uninvited contact, JJ slapped his hand away, "Hey, hands off, you! I don't care who you are, but--"  
Flint sparked in his eyes as he straightened, towering over her and placing his fists on his hips, "I am Jareth, King of the Goblins, Lord and Guardian of the Labyrinth, Protector of the Lost and Heir Apparent to the throne of _Tir Nan Og. _You may address me as, "Your Majesty," or "My lord", or another title befitting my station," the smirk suddenly returned, "However you word it is _entirely_ up to you."  
While the inner part of JJ was running and hiding, the foolish part of JJ was despising being intimidated. With some effort (and a subtle helping nudge from Nobbiggo) she stood, squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin to stare up at him defiantly.  
Standing at 5'6", she wasn't exactly short per se, but a great many people still managed to tower over her, and she was used to having to stare down people taller than herself. It wasn't easy, but she'd had twenty years to practice.  
"Now you listen to me, your poofy-ness," she growled, "I don't give a _damn_ who or what you are, but if you do not send me home right now, you are going to have more trouble on your hands than you can handle."  
Arching an eyebrow, the Goblin King stepped even closer, until his body was pressed against hers and his cinnamon-scented breath tickled her ear as he leaned in to whisper, "Oh you precious thing… I'll bet you drove your mother and father insane."  
Carefully, he placed one finger against her breastbone, and ever so gently pushed, causing her to fall backwards onto the throne with an undignified yelp.  
He took a step back as she came to her feet once more, the pain in her ankle forgotten, her fist clenched and flying towards his face. Effortlessly he caught it, and with a casual strength, pried JJ's fingers loose, clucking his tongue at the abrasions on her palms.  
"Not here for even an hour and you've already injured yourself?"  
JJ's anger was quickly replaced with curiosity as the Goblin King used his teeth to pull the glove off of his other hand, allowing it to drop to the floor as he traced his bare fingers over the scraped flesh.  
JJ winced in anticipation of a fresh sting, but instead, her skin tingled, and as she watched, the abused palm smoothed over, leaving no sign of the scuffing.  
Wordlessly, the Goblin King did the same to her other hand.  
"Wow," she said, taking her hands from his grasp and running her fingers over them disbelievingly, "That's amazing. Thank you." she looked up at him and found that his expression had softened to a genuine smile, "You're welcome, Miss Jones."  
He sighed, looking suddenly very tired, "Madame, believe me when I say that, if I could send you home, I would. A wish was made, however, and since there are none to challenge the labyrinth for your freedom, you must remain here. I am truly sorry."  
JJ paused for a long moment, an idea forming in her head. The Goblin King studied her with narrowed eyes, and remarked in a tone laced with suspicion, "A human woman thinking as hard as you are right now never bodes well."  
"Can anyone run the labyrinth for my freedom?"  
The King nodded, "As long as they are willing, yes."  
"Then…" she took a deep breath, "I want to do it."  
Suddenly the smirk was back as the Goblin King tilted his head to regard her with an amused expression, "Come now, July, it really will be so much easier if you just accept the fact that you're trapped here, and that you belong to me."  
JJ bristled, irritated by his arrogance, "I belong to no one. I claim my right to nominate a challenger for my freedom, and I am that challenger!"  
Something in the Goblin King's demeanor changed, and while he still held the same smirk, it was suddenly something dangerous, a tangible warning that made JJ's skin crawl and she side-stepped around the throne to put some distance between them.  
Either oblivious to or ignoring her discomfort, the Goblin King swept past her, going to a high-arched window and motioning for JJ to look out.  
She did, and gasped: a gigantic maze, sprawling out towards the horizon. JJ tried to judge the distance, but found that some sort of optical illusion made that impossible, as the labyrinth seemed to writhe, constantly in motion.  
As if reading her mind, The Goblin King chuckled, "It's not your imagination. The Labyrinth is alive, and is always changing. It's filled with dangers: pitfalls, oubliettes, dead-ends that close in on you and leave you trapped until your time is out," he circled behind her, and his breath fluttered against her neck, causing her to shiver, "And creatures that enjoy the taste of human flesh."  
JJ struggled to keep her voice steady, even as she lied, "It doesn't seem so bad."  
The Goblin King laughed darkly, "You would do well to remember that in this realm, nothing is as it seems. Do you still want to run it?"  
JJ stared out across the Labyrinth, trying hard not to show her dismay.  
_Worst mistake ever_, she mentally grumbled to herself, even as she said, "Yes."  
She turned to face the Goblin King, and when she did, she found that they were no longer in the throne room, but at the massive gate that lead out into the Labyrinth.  
"You have thirteen hours in which to escape the Labyrinth," the Goblin King said.  
"And if I fail?" JJ asked, regretting the question when he grinned.  
"If you fail, you will remain here for the rest of your life. Other than that, well... use your imagination."

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_Please review!_


	2. The Oubliette

_In which JJ discovers what an Oubliette is, and Jareth is a shameless flirt._

_Once again, I do not own Labyrinth._

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**The Oubliette  
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An hour later, she hadn't made much progress. She'd found a sturdy stick to use as a makeshift cane, but at the rate she was hobbling, she could see no way to escape the labyrinth in time.  
_Hell_, she thought grimly, _I don't even know if I'm going the right way…_  
Fortunately though, she so far had managed to avoid the unpleasantries that Jareth had mentioned, and she could only hope that her luck in that aspect would hold up.

The stone walls of the labyrinth blocked any glimpse of the surrounding maze, and briefly she considered scaling them to get a view, but decided against it.  
_That's probably cheating_, she mused, _Which would be as good an excuse as any for His Royal Glittery-ness to keep me here._  
Her toe caught a gap in the flagstones and she stumbled, putting weight on her injured ankle, which caused her to swear, loudly.  
"If I ever get my hands on that kid again--"  
An amused voice interrupted her, "You know, talking to yourself is the first sign that you've lost your mind."  
JJ turned and found Nobbiggo perched on top of an arch that she'd just passed under.  
When he smirked and waved, JJ glared at him, "I suppose you know that from personal experience?"  
"Of course not," he jumped down from the arch, landed on all fours, and then stood upright, "Being a goblin, I never had one to begin with."  
JJ chuckled in spite of herself, "Back in my world, seeing goblins and talking to them is the second sign that you've lost it."  
"Well, there you have it!" the goblin folded his arms and leaned casually against a wall, "I have to admit, for a crazy person, you're making better progress than I would've thought."  
JJ snorted, "You're kidding me, right? I'm terrible at this sort of thing. Thanks for the encouragement though."  
She turned and continued, grimacing as her ankle twinged. A warm, furry paw curled around her fingers, and she looked down to find Nobbiggo walking beside her.  
At her questioning look, he shrugged, "I can't show you the way through, it's against the rules. I can, however, keep you company, and make sure you don't get hurt."  
JJ smiled, "Thanks, Nobbiggo."

After a few more hours, the sandstone walls gave way to a garden maze, and JJ was thoroughly impressed, "This place is gorgeous," she said, quietly.  
Nobbiggo agreed, "His majesty spends much of his free time here in the gardens."  
"I can see why."  
Something glinting in the sunlight caught her eye, and she turned down the path towards it. Suddenly, the ground shifted beneath her, and Nobbiggo shouted a warning, but it was too late: She yelled as she fell into a dark pit, grasping for the sides of the shaft, but her drop was halted abruptly by what felt like a dozen or so pairs of hands… hands that looked like they were covered with some sort of green moss.  
A disembodied voice rasped, "Well well, what have we here?"  
Three of the hands formed a face, "Looks like we got a live one!"  
Another face looked like it was grinning, "What do you think, gents? Send her back up, or down?"  
One hand slipped under JJ's shirt and she slapped it away with a growl, "I don't think so, buddy. And send me up if you please, I'm on a time crunch."  
"What'd she say?" one set of hands asked, it's fingers forming a face scrunched with confusion.  
"Did she say up?" Another said.  
"Nah," the first one answered, "I think she said down!"  
"No!" JJ growled, "I said up!"  
"Too late now!"  
The hands dropped her.

She hit a rough gravel floor, her leg twisting beneath her painfully, and she could hear the hands laughing. When she looked up through the shaft, the hands had disappeared, and she could see Nobbiggo looking down at her worriedly.  
"Are you alright?" he called down.  
JJ glanced down at her leg, and found that her plastic ankle brace was cracked cleanly open. The knee of her jeans was torn, the skin was bloodied from the gravel, and she could tell from the stinging in both her elbows that those joints had suffered the same damage, but other than that, she was not seriously injured.  
"I'm ok, Nobb," she said, slowly pushing herself to her feet, "A little busted up, but I'll make it. What is this?"  
Nobbiggo sounded concerned, "You're in an oubliette… there's no way out except the hole."  
JJ glanced around the chamber and quickly realized he was right.  
"Don't suppose you can help me out, can you?" she asked.  
The goblin thought for a moment, and answered, "Maybe. Hang on a tick, I'll be right back."  
When he disappeared, she sat down with a sigh, and yanked the remains of her brace off.  
"Stupid shiny thing," she muttered, "I can't believe I fell for that."  
The Goblin King's smooth voice replied, "I can."  
JJ turned and found him leaning casually against the wall, his arms folded over his chest, smirking. Although it had only been a few hours since she'd last seen him, his outfit had completely changed. He now wore a black leather vest, a white poet's shirt that was left with the top buttons undone, and black leather boots that went past his knees. And grey pants that left very little to the imagination. When she realized exactly how tight they were, she blushed, which made the Goblin King laugh.  
JJ glared at him, "Well, I'm glad this amuses you."  
He chuckled and knelt beside her, and when she started to scoot back, he took her arm and scolded, "Be still, I'm not going to bite. Well," he grinned, "Not at the moment."  
He took off his gloves and ran his hands down her arm, and immediately the stinging in her elbow subsided.  
The Goblin King then leaned over her and did the same to her other arm, and also to her leg, stopping only when he got to her ankle.  
"This injury is quite serious. You should have told me earlier."  
JJ shrugged, "It didn't occur to me."  
He rolled his eyes and pressed his fingers against the swollen joint, his brow furrowing in concentration.  
Unlike when he healed the abrasions, the sensation in her ankle was quite painful, and JJ had to bite her lip to keep from swearing.  
Again, the Goblin King seemed all too aware of her thoughts, "Swear all you like, I imagine this hurts like hell."  
"What, you've never sprained your ankle?" JJ growled through clenched teeth.  
He raised an eyebrow at her, "I've never let an injury go this long without proper treatment."  
"It was fine until you whisked me off to this place," the redhead huffed, glaring at him.  
"You're the one who insisted on running the Labyrinth," he retorted, "And if you're having second thoughts, you are more than welcome to forfeit your remaining time and--"  
"Fat chance," JJ pushed away from him and got to her feet. Her ankle twinged, but not nearly as badly as before.  
Jareth stood as well, putting his gloves back on, "It'll still hurt, but as long as it doesn't suffer any more abuse, it should heal up well enough."  
"Thanks," JJ said. After a pause, she asked, "Why are you helping me?"  
The Goblin King rolled his hand in a classic sleight of hand fashion, and a crystal sphere appeared, balanced on his fingertips. With an ease borne out of years of practice, he began manipulating the crystal over his hand, something that JJ recognized as contact juggling, though she'd never seen anyone do it as gracefully as he did.  
The fluid motion was hypnotic, and JJ had to forcefully tear her gaze from it.  
Aware of the effect that the crystal juggling had, the Goblin King grinned wickedly, "July, you'll find that I can be quite generous, when it suits me."  
He stopped manipulating the crystal and took slow steps forward, until he was only a few inches away from JJ, who backed away instinctively.  
The crystal caught the human's attention again, and when she looked at it, she saw her reflection deep within the sphere.  
"What is that?" she questioned.  
Resuming the juggling, Jareth shrugged, "It's a crystal. Nothing more. However, if you turn it this way, and look into it," he paused the crystal's movement once more, "It'll show you your dreams."  
His grin took on a predatory quality, as he stepped even closer, and JJ backed up until she was against the wall.  
The Goblin King held the crystal out to her, "Do you want it?"  
She did. She couldn't explain why, but she felt compelled to accept the crystal, and she started to reach for it, but hesitated, "What's the catch?"  
He chuckled, "You assume there is one."  
"That's not a denial."  
With a sigh, he began juggling the crystal once more, "The catch, as you put it, is that you willingly forfeit your remaining time and accept the fact that you must live the rest of your life here."  
JJ scowled and shoved both hands into her pockets, "And all it does is show me my dreams?"  
He raised an eyebrow, "Isn't that enough?"  
"Not really," she answered, "I already know what my dreams are, I don't need a crystal ball to show them to me."  
The Goblin King leaned against the wall, close enough for JJ to see the pattern of the crescent-shaped medallion that rested against his pale, muscular chest.  
JJ took a steadying breath, which only served to make her aware that the Goblin King smelled like peaches, and some sort of spice.  
The Goblin King lowered his voice to a silky murmur, "What if I told you that I could make your dreams come true?"  
JJ swallowed nervously, "I'd say you need to work on your pickup lines."  
He smirked, and leaned even closer, until his face was only an inch or so from hers, "You'll never escape the Labyrinth, July."  
"I've still got ten hours," she answered, meeting his mismatched gaze with feigned confidence, trying to ignore the fact that he was close enough to, well, do anything he wanted, really.  
He smirked, "Ten hours isn't long at all, Precious," he whispered, "Just think about it."  
He brushed his lips against hers, and then, before it even registered that he had actually kissed her, he was gone.  
A moment later, a rope fell through the opening, and JJ went over to it and looked up to see Nobbiggo leaning over the hole.  
"I thought he'd never leave," he called down, shaking his head and grinning, "Climb up then, let's get you out of that nasty oubliette!"  
JJ grabbed a hold of the rope and tugged on it experimentally. When it held, she began to pull herself up, and after a moment, she was out of the oubliette.  
She knelt and hugged Nobbiggo and the Goblin shrugged her off with a grin, "I had help," he said, motioning over his shoulder.  
A dwarf stood beside the rope which was tied to the base of a statue. He huffed grumpily, "I don't need no huggin' or anything of that sort," he grumbled.  
JJ smirked, "Well, thanks anyways," she answered, "I'm JJ, by the way."  
"I know who ye are. I'm Hoggle."  
"Hoggle's one of the keepers of the Labyrinth," Nobbiggo explained, "He takes care of the gardens, keeps the pixies at bay. He and Jareth don't exactly see eye to eye, I thought you could use his help."  
"I can't show you the way through," Hoggle added, "But I can steer you out of trouble, with Nobb's help."  
JJ nodded, "I really appreciate it, thanks."  
Nobbiggo took her hand, and Hoggle trundled along beside her, muttering under his breath about 'silly girls' and that 'damned rat called Jareth'.  
"Speaking of the devil," Nobbiggo said, "What did his Nibs have to say to you, JJ?"  
JJ found herself blushing, "Oh just that I'll never escape. Probably something he has well practiced. Nothing too surprising."  
Nobbiggo smirked at her, "Really? Nothing surprising, eh?"  
Irritated by the smirk, JJ affirmed, "Nothing at all."  
The goblin grinned wickedly, "Well. You've got glitter on your face. Just so you know."

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_To reiterate, I am not going to make this a JarethXOC story. I just figure Jareth is a shameless flirt. Please review!_


	3. Lost

_In which we discover a darker side of the Labyrinth._

_Which I do not own._

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**Lost**

_Later…_

"Drop it, Nobb."  
The goblin smirked at the human, "I'm just saying, you didn't seem to mind--"  
"That's because he ran off before I _could_ mind!" JJ snapped. Every now and then she swiped at her face, self-conscious after Nobbiggo's remark about glitter.  
The dwarf, Hoggle, grumbled, "That's just like him, the rat, taking advantage of helpless young girls--"  
"Ok, first off," JJ growled, "I was not 'taken advantage of, I wouldn't have minded had he just asked, after all he did fix my ankle. Secondly, I'm not that young, ok? And thirdly, I'm not _helpless._ I can take care of myself."  
Indignantly, she moved on quite a few steps ahead of them, but this proved to be a foolish move when a wall slammed into place behind her, effectively cutting her off from Nobbiggo and Hoggle.  
JJ turned and muttered a curse, "Well isn't this fantastic?" she grumbled, glaring at the wall.  
From the other side, Nobbiggo called, "Keep going, JJ. Hoggle and I will find our way to you, alright?"  
"Sure," JJ answered, though she wasn't. She turned and kept going, forcing herself to keep a swift pace, painfully aware of each passing minute.  
Though Nobb wasn't allowed to guide her, JJ had felt more confident with him by her side, and she felt that she'd been making good progress, but now that she was alone, the Labyrinth seemed larger than before, even overwhelming.  
And, for the first time she could remember, JJ was scared to be alone.

Two hours dragged by, with no sign of Hoggle or Nobbiggo, and the exhaustion was starting to really kick in. Each dead end made her want to scream in frustration, but she managed to reign it in, and calmly move on to the next turn, though she soon felt a pounding headache coming on.  
After yet another dead end, however, she sagged against a wall and slid to the ground, tucking her knees to her chest and hiding her face in her arms. She hated crying, even when no one was around to see it.  
_Stop feeling sorry for yourself,_ she mentally scolded herself, _crying won't do you any good and it'll just make your head hurt worse!_  
To make matters that much more uncomfortable, her stomach growled demandingly. Suddenly feeling very stupid, JJ remembered that Jeremy had been left alone when she'd been taken, and she had absolutely no idea who, if anyone, would be able to help him if anything happened.  
_That damn glitter-poof just yanked me out of there and left my cousin all by himself. Bastard! I have to get out of here before something happens to Jeremy!_  
Spurred on by this sudden righteous indignation, JJ pushed herself to her feet, just as another wall shifted, opening up the way through the dead end.  
Briefly, JJ thought about turning back, but headed down the new path after a moment, faster than before, the pain in her ankle only a minor twinge that did not halt her progress.

As she made her way, she discovered that this part of the Labyrinth seemed more run down. The walls showed signs of crumbling, with thick moss oozing from cracks in the stone. The pathway soon became a thick mud that squelched underfoot, and a thin mist seemed to rise up from it, giving the air a clammy chill.  
Soon the walls disappeared completely, and JJ found herself standing at the beginning of a path that wound through a marshland. The mist had thickened into a fog, and distantly she could see the dim flickers of small golden lights floating above the water.

Right as JJ set foot on the path, a small fox, dressed elegantly as a knight and carrying a miniature rapier, dashed out in front of her, holding up its paws, "Halt! I cannot let you go further!"  
JJ tried not to glare at the small creature, "And why is that?"  
The fox stared at her with one brown eye (the other was covered by a patch) and answered in a tone that clearly indicated his questioning of her sanity, "It is not safe, my lady! The path is easily lost, and evil lurks in the water!"  
"But I can't turn back," JJ said, "I don't have the time, I have to get out of this Labyrinth, there's someone back home who needs me!"  
Heedless of the Fox-Knight's sword, JJ stepped around him and continued down the path. He followed a few steps, calling after her, "Stay on the path! Don't follow the lights!"  
"Thank you," JJ answered, waving at him. As she followed the path, she soon realized that the Fox's warning was in earnest: for while the lights seemed to stay on the path for a while, she saw that they slowly drifted out into the marsh, probably out into quicksand, or worse.

Soon, the fog thickened, hiding even the lights from view, and forcing JJ to slow down.  
She soon lost track of time as she carefully picked her footing along the slippery path through the marsh. Fortunately, though it did twist and turn, no other paths branched off, a mercy that JJ was extremely grateful for.

What could have been hours or only minutes later, JJ had paused to catch her breath when she heard someone call her name.  
When she heard the call a second time, she pegged the direction and, after a moment's hesitation, stepped off of the path to follow it.  
She sank to her knees in the frigid water, but no further, and she continued on, following the voice.  
It was familiar, though she couldn't place it, and it spoke her name with a fondness that bespoke of friendship.  
"Hello?" JJ called, stopping after a few steps. She glanced over her shoulder, reassuring herself that the path was still within reach.  
When she turned back, she gasped: A beautiful white horse now stood only a few feet away, studying her with silver eyes that glowed faintly in the murky light.  
Enchanted, JJ held out a hand towards the creature, and it stepped closer, its movement through the water eerily soundless.  
It lowered its head and stretched its muzzle towards her, inviting her touch, and when she laid her hand against its neck, she was surprised to find its skin cool and slippery, more like a seal than a horse.  
Suddenly it moved away a step, and without thinking, JJ followed, keeping her hand on the animal.  
The horse moved again, tossing its head as if motioning for her to follow. When she glanced back at the path, the horse snorted impatiently, and then, to JJ's surprise, spoke.  
"Come away with me, July," it said in a liquid voice, "Come away, human child."  
JJ shook her head, "I have to stay on the path--"  
"Come," the horse insisted, and suddenly it wasn't a horse anymore. In it's place stood a man, pale as the mist surrounding him, his white hair flowing down his back like liquid, his eyes devoid of color. He took JJ's hand in his own ice-cold fingers, and beckoned her again, tugging lightly for her to follow.  
JJ blinked, and suddenly the man was gone; the horse was in his place, and her hand was on its shoulder. This time, when the horse moved, JJ followed.  
After a few more steps, the water abruptly deepened and JJ gasped as the cold liquid suddenly reached her waist. She turned back and found that she could no longer see the path.  
"I have to go back," she said, starting to move in the direction they had just come. A cold hand caught her arm and when she turned, the white haired man stood there.  
"Come with me," he said, in a tone that was somewhere between pleading and demanding, though his face was devoid of any emotion.  
"No," JJ answered, trying to pull away, but the creature would not release her, "I have to get out of the Labyrinth."  
"I can help you do that," he purred, pulling her closer to him and grinning, which revealed a mouthful of needle-sharp teeth.  
JJ yanked her arm from his grasp and growled, "No thanks, I can manage on my own."  
The grin disappeared, and so did the man. In his place stood a creature that mildly resembled a horse in form only, but instead of the smooth white coat there was now slimy green skin like a frog's; its mane hung like clumps of oily seaweed, and the creature glared at her with the blank eyes of something that had drowned.  
When it opened its mouth to howl at her, it showed the same rows of teeth, saliva dripping from them as its long, black pointed tongue flicked the air like a serpent's.

The creature lunged at her and in her attempt to avoid it, JJ fell, and the water closed over her head. The creature dived after her and dragged her further down, until she was in so deep that the light disappeared and she couldn't see through the murk.  
She clenched her fists and pounded at the creature, but she soon realized that the thing had disappeared, and that all that was holding her down was what appeared to be seaweed.  
She twisted to get out of it, but the more she struggled, the further entangled she became. Her lungs felt as if they would burst, and all she could think was, _This is a really crappy way to die._  
Suddenly, hands wrapped around her wrists, yanking her from the weeds and once she was free, she found that the water was suddenly shallow enough for her to stand. She broke free of the water with a gasp, which caused some of the water to flood her mouth and choke her. Coughing violently, and dizzy from the lack of oxygen, she staggered and someone wrapped their arms around her to keep from falling.  
When the coughing fit passed, she looked up to discover the identity of her rescuer, and found herself staring at none other than the Goblin King.  
Without asking for approval, he swept her off her feet and carried her back to the path, his expression torn between anger and something she couldn't identify .  
"You were warned not to stray," he growled, quietly, as he carried her to a large black tree, its trunk gnarled from age and its branches draped with what looked like Spanish moss.  
JJ looked down with a blush, feeling very foolish and hating herself for it.  
_That's the second time I've been tricked… am I really that stupid?! Dammit Jones, it's not that hard to stay on the freakin' path, and you can't even do that!!! And now he probably thinks that I'm just a typical dumb human who can't follow simple instructions--_  
She quickly slapped that thought away, reminding herself that she didn't care what the Goblin King thought

JJ yelped indignantly when the Goblin King unceremoniously dropped her at the base of the tree, and she immediately scrambled to her feet, but he pushed her back down, gently this time, "You need to rest, you foolish girl," he said with a long-suffering tone, as if he were a babysitter dealing with a particularly unruly child.  
"I don't have time to rest!" JJ protested, "I only have eight hours--"  
Jareth shushed her by putting a finger to her lips, "Seven hours and thirteen minutes, actually. And your time is frozen for as long as I remain with you."  
JJ stared at him incredulously, "Really? You're pausing my time?"  
"Don't sound so surprised, Precious. I told you that I can be generous," he smirked, "Now unless you're willing to give up now, I suggest you sit and catch your breath for a moment."  
He glanced her over appraisingly and added with a chuckle, "You're a mess. And I mean that in the best possible way."  
"Oh geeze, thanks," JJ grumbled, as she grudgingly sat down, and started trying to wipe some of the mud off of her clothes and skin. "So what is this place anyways?" she questioned, "It doesn't really fit in with the rest of the Labyrinth."  
Jareth leaned against the tree, and answered somewhat disdainfully, "It's called the Wayfarer's Grave. It is the result of lost hopes and broken dreams, and is as much a part of the Labyrinth as the gardens you admired earlier."  
JJ thought for a moment, "You sound like you're not particularly happy about that."  
"I create dreams, July. I manipulate them, I can even make some into a reality. A broken dream to me is like a butterfly without wings. No, I do not like this place. However, I must accept it, as I accept all aspects of my realm."  
"And that thing--"  
"A Kelpie. One of the dark creatures that thrives on despair as much as it does on flesh. Your death would have been much more agonizing than a simple drowning, had I not interfered."  
JJ's stomach twisted at that thought, and she shuddered involuntarily. After a moment, she murmured a subdued "Thank you."  
The Goblin King was quiet for a long moment, and for whatever reasons, his silence only made JJ's blush deepen.  
When she glanced up at him again, she found him looking at her thoughtfully. Finally, he answered, "You're welcome, July."  
Suddenly he was kneeling beside her, too close for comfort, and JJ noted with some envy that, while she was soaking wet, the King was somehow perfectly dry.  
_Probably magic,_ she thought to herself, _that would be so handy right now_.  
"I have a gift for you," Jareth said, flicking his wrist and causing another crystal to appear on his fingertips.  
JJ glared, "I already told you--"  
"No strings attached," he added with a small grin, "Call it a token of my good will."  
Still glaring at him suspiciously, JJ took the crystal and looked into it. After a moment, she saw her cousin sitting at the dinner table, with an older woman who appeared to be in her late forties sitting next to him. He was crying, and the neighbor looked concerned, and though JJ could see her lips moving, she couldn't hear what was being said.  
"Isn't that Mrs. Pierson from down the street?" JJ questioned.  
Jareth nodded, "Yes. Young Jeremy's babysitter was taken ill quite suddenly, and Mrs. Pierson received a call from a concerned young EMT stating that the boy needed to be watched until his father returned. The boy will be well taken care of."  
JJ was taken aback, "You did all of that?"  
He nodded, and JJ surprised herself by leaning over and hugging him briefly. After a second, Jareth patted her on the back, somewhat awkwardly, before she pulled away again. "Thank you," she said again, pushing herself to her feet. The Goblin King stood as well, one eyebrow raised questioningly, "And what was that for?"  
JJ shrugged, "You didn't have to take care of him. And you didn't have to save me from that Kelpie. Even though I'll do everything I can to get back home, I appreciate everything you've done for me," she chuckled, "You're an incredibly nice kidnapper."  
Jareth smirked, and leaned in close, "Not too nice, however. Hurry along now, Precious. I'm curious to see just how far you get before your time runs out."  
He snapped his fingers, and then vanished, leaving faint traces of glitter to sparkle and fade before reaching the mud.


	4. Lonely

_In which we meet Wise men, Tacky Hats, and Stalker Owls._

_I do not own Labyrinth._

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**Lonely**

By the time JJ made it out of the Wayfarer's Grave, evening was falling over the Labyrinth.

A gentle breeze ruffled her hair and started to dry her clothes, which made them stiff, cold, and generally uncomfortable, but JJ was too grateful to be alive for complaining.

The architecture had changed quite a bit from what she'd seen so far: instead of sandstone, the walls and floor were smooth, pale alabaster, to which the fading sunset lent a pinkish glow.

Trailing vines of ivy sprawled across the walls, sporting tiny clusters of white, star-shaped flowers that filled the air with a heady scent similar to lilacs, and fairies with translucent butterfly wings fluttered among them, giggling and chattering amongst themselves in high-pitched voices that were nearly inaudible.

Soon, the corridor she was walking opened up into a courtyard of sorts. Large benches were placed in a loose circle around a large stone gazebo, and upon closer inspection, JJ found that the benches were made using pieces of alabaster carved to look like books.

The gazebo had more of the flowering ivy twined around its pillars, and between each pillar was a statue made of the same white stone. There were nine of these statues, all made to represent graceful, inhumanly beautiful women, and JJ saw that each of them held an object: A book, a flute, a scroll, a harp, a paint brush, a pair of dance shoes, a tragedy mask, a comedy mask, and the last held a quill and a roll of parchment.

In the center of the gazebo stood an easel, on which rested a painted canvas, and JJ moved forward to inspect it.

To her surprise, she found it to be a portrait of herself. Her red hair fell in soft, silky curls to her shoulders, and was adorned with a silver filigreed hairclip in the shape of an owl with outstretched wings, and she wore a silver gown, the type that could only be found on a fairytale princess.

Her face was devoid of emotion, her eyes strangely vacant, and JJ felt a chill crawl down her spine when she saw the dark figure standing behind her painted self.

Though he was mostly in shadow, JJ recognized the form of the Goblin King.

The painter had created a shaft of light that illuminated Jareth's smirk, and gleamed off of the smooth curve of the crystal sphere that he held in one outstretched hand. In the other hand, JJ saw that he held an hourglass, with all of the sand in the bottom.

The meaning couldn't have been more clear than if someone had spoken it: _Time's Up._

A rustling noise outside of the gazebo caused JJ to turn sharply, covering her mouth with her hands to smother a startled yelp.

The source of the noise proved to be an old man, dressed in ragged robes the color of autumn leaves. His white mustache fell to his waist, and perched on top of his head was a hat that looked like the head of a particularly ugly bird.

When the bird turned its head to look at her, it opened its beak and said in a high pitched voice, "Well, aren't you a fine mess to look at, eh?"

JJ hesitated, _did I really just get insulted by a hat?_

The old man scolded the bird, and then turned to JJ, "You look lost, young woman."

JJ shrugged a little helplessly, "I'm used to it now, unfortunately," she answered, "Can you help me?"

The old man seemed to think it over, before motioning for her to follow him. He rambled over to one of the book-chairs, and sat down in it with a groan, his bones audibly creaking.

"Now then, young woman," he said, "What can I do for you?"

JJ took a deep breath, "Well, I have to escape the Labyrinth, and I have less than seven hours to do so; do you have any suggestions?"  
"Try running," the bird said snidely.

"Be quiet!" the old man growled. "Well, young lady. The only advice that I am able to give you is this: There are many entrances to the Labyrinth, yet there is only one exit."

"How's that for enigmatic, eh?" The bird quipped.

"Will you please _be quiet!"_ the old man demanded in a raised voice.

The bird sounded exasperated, "Alright! Sheesh!"

The old man glared upwards, "Finished?"  
After a moment's pause, the bird replied, "Yes."  
"Good. Now, where was I?"  
"Many entrances but only one exit," JJ suggested.

"Ah, yes. Thank you. Sometimes, in life, we feel that we're going the right way, when in fact--"  
"We aren't." The bird contributed.

The old man sighed in frustration, "We _aren't._"

Trying to work out exactly how that was going to help, JJ asked, "How can I tell if I'm going the right way?"

"Always remember, dear child," the old man answered, "That nothing in this world is as it seems."

"Why don't you just give up?" the bird asked, "It'd certainly make things much simpler."

JJ sighed, "First off, I don't just give up. It's not in my nature. Secondly… as beautiful as this world is, it's not where I belong. I have to at least try to get back home."

The bird made a non-committal noise, and the old man, now asleep, snored.

"Well," the bird said, "Your stimulating conversation seems to have done its job. Please, leave a contribution in the little box!"

JJ looked and saw that the old man held a small wooden box in his hand. She dug through her pockets, and found a few pennies, which she put into the box.

"Gracias, senorita!" the bird called, as she waved and walked away.

_Nothing is what it seem, _JJ thought as she went, picking a corridor at random and starting down it at a brisk pace, _but if that's the case, how does it explain Jareth? He seems nice. A bit arrogant maybe, and it irks me to no end that he brought me here in the first place, but he hasn't done anything to hurt me. In fact, he's helped me. If it seems that he's good, is he actually evil?_

She shook her head and decided not to dwell on it too much, and her thoughts drifted instead to the painting in the gazebo.

Not only did the image thoroughly creep her out, it made her suddenly self-conscious about her appearance. In the painting, her hair had been clean and silky and shiny, her appearance immaculate. In reality, she was filthy. Her clothes and hair were stained from the mud of the Wayfarer's Grave, and she walked awkwardly with only one shoe now that her brace was discarded, and her other foot was clad in a once-pink sock that was now an unidentifiable color, somewhere between gray and brown.

She sighed a bit forlornly, and then began fantasizing about taking a nice, long hot bath, as soon as she got home, and that put a smile on her face.

Once the sun had fully gone, a full moon rose over the Labyrinth, larger than any she'd ever seen on earth, silvering the alabaster and making the white flowers on the vines glow brightly, and the fairies began singing.

Other than that, however, the entire maze was eerily still: the walls had stopped shifting, and JJ wondered if the Labyrinth was asleep.

Suddenly, a shadow passed over her, and she jumped, startled. The shadow proved only to be a barn owl however, and it landed on a wall above her, tilting its head at her curiously.

JJ glared at it, "Thanks for giving me a heart attack!"

The owl ruffled its feathers and made a sound that was suspiciously like laughter.

"Oh hush," JJ huffed, "It's not like I don't have a reason to be jumpy. Go eat a mouse or something, isn't that what you owls do?"

The owl made a strange cooing and hopped along the wall beside her, fluttering its wings occasionally for balance.

After it was following her for about ten minutes, JJ waved her hands at it, "Go on, shoo! Show's over, I don't need a _bird_ laughing at me, it's bad enough when a Goblin King does it."

The owl flew down from the wall and surprised JJ by landing on her shoulder, gripping it carefully to keep from scratching her.

It tilted its head questioningly, and JJ sighed, "I feel like an idiot. And I'm worried that _he_ thinks I'm an idiot. And I feel even more like an idiot for worrying about it. I mean, he's pretty awesome, aside from the whole 'you have thirteen hours to escape my Labyrinth or I keep you forever, mwa ha'."  
Glancing over at it, JJ suddenly had the distinct feeling that if the owl had eyebrows, it would've arched one at her skeptically.

"What?" she questioned, "It's true! Ok, so lacking the evil laugh. He does laugh at me though. Not without reason I suppose. If anything I've heard in fairy tales is true, then he's probably this all powerful being that finds humans amusing in a twisted way. Which serves to make me feel even more like an idiot. Plus, I miss Nobbiggo and Hoggle. Having them with me helped, a lot. Being alone never bothered me before, but…"  
The owl ruffled its feathers in irritation, and JJ chuckled, "And now I'm ranting my woes to an owl. Sorry about that."

The owl nipped her ear gently and then took off. At first, JJ thought she'd seen the last of it, but very soon it returned, and circled once, before flying off again.

A second later, JJ came to a fork, and decided to take a chance and follow the owl. After a few moments, the owl disappeared, just as the stone walkway disappeared into a thick green lawn.

A thick grove of blossoming cherry trees sweetened the air, with more of the flowering vines wrapped around their trunks. Faintly, JJ could hear music and laughter, and the tinkling of crystal, as soft golden light flitted between the branches of the cherry trees.

Tempted by the grass, she kicked off her one shoe and both of her socks, and ran towards the grove, her curiosity getting the better of her yet again.

Once she was close, she could see that the grove formed a large circle, and that the light was created by glowing golden paper orbs hung in the branches, much like Chinese lanterns. When she looked even closer, she could see the faint shapes of fairies glowing within the lanterns, giggling as they looked down on what appeared to be a masquerade ball, straight out of _A Midsummer Night's Dream._

Men and women in elegant clothing danced and laughed, their faces concealed by masks. Some of the them were lovely, such as the woman dressed as a peacock, yet others were hideous and frightening.

JJ hid behind a tree and watched them dance, feeling entranced by the music, her whole body aching to dance, but she fought off the desire by reminding herself that not only was she a mess, but she was also on a time constraint.

Regretfully she turned away, only to have something white flutter down and land at her feet: a single feather.

Curiously, she bent to pick it up and as soon as she did, it crumbled into a puff of glitter and the breeze blew it into her face.

Sputtering quietly, she stood, swiping at her face, and found that her hand was suddenly covered by a white silk glove.

Startled, she looked down at herself, and discovered that her muddy jeans and t-shirt had been replaced by the silver ball gown from the painting. The slightly puffed sleeves sat just off of her shoulders, and met the silk opera gloves that reached past her elbows. The bodice hugged her figure flatteringly, and was tastefully embroidered with a pale blue thread and small pearl beads. The skirt was satin, and rustled pleasantly as she twirled experimentally, and the soft tickling of the grass let her know that she remained barefoot.

While she stood there, trying to work it out in her head and to decide what to do, a pair of dancers broke away from the group and dragged her into the circle, laughing giddily and demanding that she join the revelry.

She was pulled into a dance, twirled by partner after partner, all of them laughing, and very soon she was dizzy and more exhausted than before, yet none of the dancers allowed her to collapse even though she felt ready to any second.

Suddenly, the dancing stopped, and JJ found herself standing in the middle of a circle of dancers, quite alone. No one was laughing now, and even the music had fallen silent.

Then the crowd parted, as a man stepped through them, moving towards JJ with a graceful purpose that a stalking tiger would envy.

Though he was wearing a mask that concealed the upper half of his face, there was no mistaking the Goblin King.


	5. Paper Faces on Parade

_In which I get to write my own Ball Scene, and JJ's resolve to escape is in question._

_Do I really need to say it again? Do not own._

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**Paper Faces on Parade**

His wild blonde hair was highlighted with streaks of black, and his lean figure was draped in a white velvet waistcoat, the hem and cuffs of which sported silver embroidery. A white cravat was at his throat, pinned by a smaller version of the medallion that JJ had seen around his neck earlier. His pants were gray, as were the boots and the ever-present gloves, and his mouth was curved into the smirk of someone who was far too sure of himself.

When he was near enough, he bowed from the waist, and said quietly, "May I have this dance?"

Not wanting to look even more foolish than usual, JJ managed a slightly awkward curtsey, "Um, sure," she answered.

The Goblin King took her hand in one of his, the other he placed on her waist, and he guided her through the first steps of a slow waltz. As soon as he did so, the other dancers continued, more restrained than before.

Upon closer inspection, JJ saw that his mask was shaped like the face of an owl, and she doubted that it was merely coincidence.

"You know," she said, with a smirk, "You go through more costume changes than a female Pop star."

"An outfit for every court occasion," he answered, "And may I say, it was high time you went through a 'costume change' yourself. Your previous ensemble certainly was ready for retirement."

JJ huffed, indignantly, "Yes, well, forgive me if I was more concerned with escape than appearance."

"Appearance is everything, precious," he twirled her once before bringing her back and holding her close, "While we're on the topic, you look quite fetching in that gown; it's a bit bare though, don't you think?" he took his hand from her waist, his fingers curving into a fist momentarily before opening to reveal the owl hairclip from the portrait. Tiny crystal shards marked the eyes of the owl and accented the curves of its silver wings.

Jareth placed the clip in her hair, and gave a thoroughly self-satisfied smile, "There we are. Perfect."

"You're spoiling me," JJ remarked, "Or is this how you treat all of the girls you kidnap?"

The Goblin King laughed, softly, "You keep using that word, yet I must point out: You're here because your cousin _wished_ it. Had he not, then I would have had no power to steal you away," he stroked a finger against her jaw and grinned, "And I find myself glad that he did… you've been quite entertaining thus far."

JJ bit her tongue against an angry reply, and looked away. Doing so, she noted that the other dancers stared at her openly, though some did try to be subtle, and they whispered to themselves while pointing or nodding towards her. Fortunately, the Goblin King's voice distracted her before her embarrassment could escalate any further, "You seem to have stolen the spotlight, my dear."

"Why are they staring?" JJ asked, turning back to him.

Jareth glanced at his courtiers before answering, "They're impressed. Most do not make it as far as you have."

JJ couldn't help but feel a bit smug, "Not so sure that I won't escape now, are you, your majesty?"

Jareth chuckled darkly, "You've been lucky, and luck is a fickle thing, pet. One slip in the wrong direction and you'll be lost forever."  
JJ started to push away, "Well then, I'd better be off."

"You have time," The Goblin King answered, keeping a gentle hold on her, "If you do manage to escape, this will be their only chance to get a good look at you. But enough of this serious business. Tell me, how are you enjoying the ball?"

JJ glanced around, pointedly ignoring the still-gawking party-goers, "It's lovely," she admitted, "Is there a special occasion?"

The Goblin King's smirk became a grin, "You are the occasion, my dear. There hasn't been a runner in the Labyrinth for twenty-some years. Any sort of excitement is enough of an excuse for my court to throw a party."

JJ snorted, "They're that bored, huh?"  
"Indeed. And," he dipped her suddenly, and held her there, forcing her to rely on him for support, "_When_ you lose, a more formal one shall be held to properly introduce you to them."

JJ glared at him, and when he finally set her on her feet again, she managed to push away, "You're far too confident of my failure, Goblin King," she snapped, "Know something that I don't?"

Jareth laughed outright, "A great many things, my dear, but then I have had centuries to learn."

"Including the best ways to distract young females when they're trying to escape?" JJ grumbled, turning and walking away from him, silently kicking herself for allowing him to sidetrack her so thoroughly.

Once she was in the shadow of the trees, Jareth caught her, his arms sliding over hers, pinning them to her sides, and he growled against her ear, "I am not entirely to blame, precious. You allow yourself to be distracted far too easily, it requires no effort on my part."

JJ tried to pull away, "Let go of me!" she demanded.

"Why?" he laughed, "Am I making you uncomfortable?"

Gritting her teeth, she snapped, "I don't like to be manhandled, for your information."

The Goblin King's voice was almost a purr, "I heard no complaints when I rescued you from the Kelpie."

"That was different!" she twisted to face him, and managed to shove him away, "Now, if you're quite finished with trying to make me lose, I have a Labyrinth to escape!"

She would have pranced off quite dramatically then, had he not quietly said, "You really should give up, you know."  
JJ whirled, bristling with a cutting response, but he continued, "We both know the only reason you haven't by now is because of your pride."

"How dare you--!"  
Faster than she could blink, he was inches away from her once more, putting his gloved finger against her lips to silence her, "You know your cousin is in no danger. Your life here would be nothing less than pleasant. You would be happy here, but you refuse to just quietly surrender, out of sheer stubbornness."

JJ slapped his hand away and snarled, "You obviously don't know me then."

The Goblin King brought a crystal to his fingertips, "I know your dreams, July," he answered, softly, holding the crystal out for her to see, "And that is enough. I know a part of you has yearned for a place like this for as long as you can remember. Even while trying to escape, you are captivated by it."

"You're wrong," JJ growled, pushing the crystal away and ignoring the blurred images swirling within it, "I'm trying to leave because I don't _belong_ here."  
"Well you're not trying enough. The truth hurts, little girl: You don't really want to leave."

JJ turned and ran, leaving the grove of trees and the grassy lawn as fast as she could, infuriated. Returning to the stone corridors, she tried to convince herself that she was angry at the Goblin King for distracting her so successfully, but deep down she knew she was more angry at herself for considering the possibility that, maybe he'd been right. Maybe she didn't really want to leave all that much.

_That's ridiculous_ she thought to herself, _he's just trying to make me doubt myself. No more distractions, Jones, you've wasted far too much time, you need to get serious about this if you're going to escape._

After throwing herself into the task of finding her way out of the maze, she focused on anything and everything to keep from thinking about the Goblin King's words.

The environment proved to be enough distraction, and soon the girl was shivering. The stone was cold against her bare feet, and though the dress was made from countless yards of material, it did nothing to protect her from the chilly night air.

She was grumbling to herself aloud about the uselessness of the dress when a soft coo made her look up: perched on the wall a few feet ahead of her was the owl. Not paying attention to the ground, she caught her toe against an uneven flagstone, and stumbled, which caused her to swear vehemently, and the owl to voice its warbling laugher at her expense.

As she passed it, JJ muttered, "Not another peep from you, featherbrain."

"Peep," the owl answered, smugly.

JJ turned sharply to glare at it, and the bird ruffled its feathers and took off, disappearing into the night.

After a while, JJ came to a pair of doors. In front of each stood a knight in armor, one in white, the other in red, and when JJ approached, they both held out a hand to stop her.

"Beware, traveler!" said the white, "Ye must choose your path carefully!"

The red continued, "For beyond one door is the way to the gate of the Labyrinth, and through the other lies--"

The white interrupted, "Certain death!"

JJ sighed, "I really don't have time for this, guys."

The white knight harrumphed indignantly, "She's not impressed, Red."

"Of course not, ye dafty!" the red snapped, "Ye interrupted me before I was through!" He looked at JJ mournfully, "My warning was much more impressive."

"Away with ye," The white knight scoffed, "There's naught more impressive than Certain Death!"

"Only it's not very certain now, is it?" The Red Knight retorted, "Seein' as how ye interrupted me, she don't know for certain if it's Certain Death. I was goinna go into the details of it ye see, and--"  
"She don't be needin' any details, ye twit! She just needs to know that it is Certain!"

Impatient with their banter, JJ interjected, "Just tell me which is which?"

They both suddenly looked guilty, "Well," Red answered, "There's bein' a catch to that, lassie… only one of us can tell you which door is which, and I have to warn you, one of us always tells the truth--"  
"And one of us always lies," The white said, "Red's the one that lies."  
"I do not!" Red protested, "I tell the truth!"  
"Ye're a lyin' dafty, ye are!"  
"Shut it, you twit!"

They began a heated argument, while JJ rubbed her head, grimacing.

_Alright,_ she thought, _First order of business is to find out which one of them is the liar._

"Ok, guys--"  
"Twit!"  
"Git!"

"Bounder!"

"Guys--"  
"Fiend!"

"Barnacle!"  
"Ha, your _mother_ was a barnacle!"

"Hey!" JJ shouted, "Do you mind?!"

Both Knights apologized, and JJ took a deep breath, "_Thank_ you. Now, just to be clear: One of you always tells the truth, and one of you always lies?" When they confirmed, she turned to the white, thinking her words over carefully even as she spoke them, "So tell me: would the red knight tell me that your door is the way to the entrance of the Labyrinth?"

The White Knight paused for a long moment, "Erm… yes?"

JJ nodded, and then turned to the Red, "Right then. Does the White Knight's door lead to the Entrance of the Labyrinth?"  
"Nope," Red answered.

"Then… your door leads to the Gate, and the White Knight's leads to Certain Death."

"How can you tell?" White asked.

"Because you told me that Red would say yes, but he said no. That makes you the liar. So I know that when I asked him if your door led to the gate, he would tell me the truth."

The red knight looked over at his companion, "Is that right?"  
White shrugged, "Dunno. I'm new at this job."

JJ motioned for the Red knight to step aside, "There's only one way to find out then. Wish me luck, boys."  
With both knights wishing her luck, she pushed against the door, and stepped into the corridor.

When the door slammed shut behind her, she flinched, half expecting something horrible to happen. Seconds ticked by, and nothing did, so with a deep sigh of relief, she moved forward.

Just as she was congratulating herself on figuring out the riddle, the ground disappeared from beneath her feet, sending her tumbling into darkness with a scream.

* * *

_I had fun writing the knights. Reviews, please!_


	6. Why a Raven is Not Like a Writing Desk

_In which we learn_

**Why a Raven is not like a Writing Desk**

Instead of falling straight down like she had in the oubliette, the ground sloped downwards like a slide, and when she hit the bottom, she found that it opened out into a wide tunnel. Torches rested in sconces on the walls, casting warm flickering light up and down the tunnel. She could see that the tunnel soon branched off in several directions, becoming a maze itself.

JJ stood and brushed herself off, grumbling to herself. Above her, the trap door slammed shut, shaking more dirt from the ceiling down on top of her, which caused her to sneeze, and grumble some more.

Sniffling, she started down the tunnel, grabbing one of the torches off of the wall, half expecting something to jump out her.

After a while, when nothing else had happened, she began to relax a little, trying to find a logical pattern in the way the tunnel maze was laid out, but after reaching a number of dead ends, she gave that up and continued on instinct.

As she went, she noticed that the tunnels continued to angle downwards, taking her deeper below ground. Whether this meant she was going the right way or not, she wasn't sure, but at least it was progress of some sort.

An hour or so passed, and while she managed to startle a few rats, and puzzle over a patch of lichen that had eyes, nothing of dramatic interest happened; nothing tried to impede her, and she was grateful for the reprieve.

Of course, all good things must come to an end, and eventually, the tunnel she was currently following opened out into a vast cavern. A soft blue glow emanated from the ceiling high above, the source being a jagged, multi-faceted crystal, which was the size of a small house. Hundreds of much smaller clusters protruded from the walls of the cavern, glittering distantly and giving JJ an idea of exactly how large the cavern really was. As she stepped further out of the tunnel and stood on a wide lip overlooking a chasm, a sudden breeze gusted up and caused her torch to gutter, and then die completely; however, she was not left in darkness, as the absence of torchlight caused the crystals to glow even brighter. Shadows became shapes, and she realized with amazement that a city had been carved into the walls of the grotto. The architecture sloped seamlessly into the formation of the stone, and the tunnel became a naturally formed bridge that arched over the deep chasm. When she peered over the edge, the light from the crystals could not even begin to penetrate the blackness pooled within it. Her foot scuffed the ground, and a small stone was knocked loose from the rim, and disappeared into the abyss. It took a long time for the sound of the rock hitting bottom to reach her ears, and her stomach lurched a little as an unbidden vision of falling in after it came to mind.

"Wouldn't that be one hell of a way to end this little trip," she muttered to herself, eyeing the bridge uncomfortably, noting that the only way to get anywhere was to cross it.

She glanced around, hoping to find some hidden path into the stone city, but none presented itself, and she was left with only three options: Turn back, stay on the ledge between the tunnel and the bridge, or cross the chasm.

_I've come too far to turn back now,_ she thought. Taking a deep breath, she took a step out onto the bridge, abandoning the spent torch in favor of using both hands to keep her skirts out of the way. Fortunately, the bridge was wide enough to cross without imitating a tightrope walker, and even though her ankle was beginning to protest each step, she made it about half-way across the bridge without incident.

That is, until the sphinx showed up.

There certainly was no mistaking the creature when it landed on the bridge in front of her, its massive wings beating once as its paws touched the stone, before folding against its body in a mass of brown feathers.

Powerful muscles rippled beneath its tawny hide, the lion's body sloping upwards into the shoulders and upper torso of a man. Its face was partly human, but very distinctly feline, especially where the eyes and nose were concerned, and its mouth was stretched into an obscenely wide grin, showing rows of needle sharp teeth.

"You will go no further," it growled, stalking forward and licking its lips.

JJ froze, her heart pounding as the creature approached, and it purred, "Oh, there's a good girl. Just stay right there, no use in running. The last person that tried to run ended up falling into the hole; nothing left but a bloody mess, unfit to eat."  
In spite of the beast's warning, JJ took several hasty steps back, only to have the sphinx pounce on her, knocking her down and pinning her beneath its considerable weight.

JJ yelled and struggled, but the sphinx only laughed, "Now now, little morsel, just a quick bite to the throat and it'll all be over. Nearly painless, I promise."

It leaned forward, its mouth opening even wider, but stopped when JJ shouted, "Wait!"

With an exasperated sigh, the sphinx whined, "You're only prolonging the inevitable, Dinner; believe me when I say you should just--"  
"You like riddles, right?" She was grasping at straws, she knew, but it was better than nothing.

The sphinx rolled its large, golden eyes, "Ugh, _please_, I grew tired of the riddle game a thousand years ago! There are only so many riddles and eventually you tasty morsels learn them all, and by the time a new one comes around, I'm so bored with the game I could cry. Now stop squirming, and die like an adult."

"What if I have a different game?"

The sphinx paused once more, intrigue lacing its feline expression, "A different game?"  
"I ask you the riddle. If you get it right, you can eat me. If you cannot give me the correct answer, then I can go."

The sphinx mulled it over, and after a moment, let her up, sitting back on its haunches. "Very well," it said, "If I cannot give you the correct answer, then you may go."

JJ got to her feet, her mind racing.

_Come on, Jones, get this right…_

"Why is a raven like a writing desk?"

The sphinx snorted, "Outdated. Because the notes for which they are noted are not noted to be musical. Is that the best you can--"  
"Wrong."  
"… what?"  
JJ took a deep breath, "Wrong answer."

The sphinx stood, baring its teeth and flexing its claws, "How can it be _wrong_, when that is the only logical answer?!"

"Because," JJ swallowed nervously, "Because there is no correct answer. The riddle was made to be nonsense, there was never supposed to be a correct answer; therefore, any answer you give, no matter how logical, will be incorrect."

While that logic made perfect sense to JJ, the sphinx disagreed. With a roar, it leapt at her, claws out for the kill; only this time, JJ was ready for it. She ducked and ran, and the sphinx sailed over her, landing a few feet behind her and scrabbling to turn and give chase.

JJ raced across the bridge, and the sphinx was quick to catch up, swiping out a paw and snagging her skirt in its claws, tearing four long gashes in the material, but fortunately missing her flesh.

On the other side of the bridge was another tunnel, mostly caved in, but near the top was a space just big enough for JJ to slip through, and she scrambled over the debris, diving through the opening just inches ahead of the sphinx.

The creature gave an enraged howl and began digging away at the rubble, pulling away dirt and large chunks of stone, slowly enlarging the opening.

JJ found herself at a dead end, and she nearly screamed at the blank wall in front of her, but instead whispered, "_Please_…"  
She glanced over her shoulder and saw the sphinx trying to squeeze through the crevice. Its grin was firmly in place, saliva glistening off of the needle teeth.

JJ turned back to glare despairingly at the wall, and yelped in surprise when she found a door where solid wall had previously been.

Without hesitation, she yanked open the door and darted through, slamming it shut behind her and locking it. Pausing only long enough to catch her breath, she backed away from the door, glancing around for anything that could be used as a weapon.

Books were stacked, literally from floor to ceiling. Each was bound in an elaborately decorated cover, but not a single one held a title.

She turned to one side, and accidentally knocked over a stack of books, and a number of them fell open when they hit the floor, and JJ was puzzled to see that they were all blank. Curious, she took another from a different pile, and flipped through its pages to find them blank as well.

A voice from one corner of the room chuckled, "Yes, JJ, they're all blank."

JJ whirled to face the speaker, snatching up a particularly thick book and brandishing it as threateningly as she could.

The speaker laughed again, a soft, musical sound. A curtain was pulled aside, and warm afternoon sunlight flooded the room, making JJ blink owlishly in the sudden brightness.

"Forgive the abrupt illumination," the speaker said, "But I prefer the light. Afternoon light is my favorite."  
Once JJ's eyes adjusted, she was able to identify the stranger as a woman. She was taller than JJ by a few inches, with long silver hair, dressed in a white kimono-style robe that pooled around her feet like water. A black sash was tied around her waist, and a matching strip of silk blindfolded her. She smiled, and JJ realized that despite her silver hair, she appeared to be quite young.

"Uh, sorry for bursting in on you," JJ began, but the woman glided forward and took both of her hands.

"No need for apologies, my dear JJ, especially when a sphinx is involved."  
JJ frowned, "How do you know my name?"

The woman gave her musical laugh and motioned behind her.

In the corner where she had been standing was a podium, on which was an open book, its pages scrawled over in ink, which also stained the woman's fingers.

"I'm the Librarian," the woman explained, "I know all that goes on in the Labyrinth, and for now, you are part of it, so I know everything about you."

JJ raised an eyebrow, and the Librarian, though blindfolded, somehow knew it because she laughed yet again, "Skeptical, JJ? After all you've seen in this world in the short time that you've been here?"

The woman had a point, and JJ sighed, "Sorry. I'm a slow learner, I guess. I don't suppose you know where the gate out of the Labyrinth is, do you?"

The woman cocked her head to one side, and gave JJ a coy smile, "There is no gate out of the Labyrinth."

JJ raised both eyebrows this time, "Then how am I supposed to get out of here?" she asked.

"There are many entrances into the Labyrinth, but--"  
"Only one exit, yeah, I got that one already. So how do I _exit_ then, huh?"

The Librarian patted her hair with a sympathetic sigh, "There, I cannot help you," she answered, "But I can let you out into a safer part of the Labyrinth. Will that do?"

JJ thought about the sphinx with a grimace, and nodded, "Yes, please."

The Librarian patted her hair again, and then went to the door. JJ stared in surprise as she opened it out into a moonlit garden. The afternoon light from the window spilled out from the door and onto the walkway, mixing with the moonlight and creating a swirling combination of silver and gold, and when JJ stepped into the mix, her skin tingled pleasantly.

The Librarian's cool touch on her arm caused her to turn, and find the door way standing alone in the middle of the path, the Librarian silhouetted by the afternoon light.

"Remember," The Librarian murmured, her voice barely above a sigh, "Nothing here is as it seems."

The door closed, and was gone in a blink, leaving JJ alone on an empty garden path.

She sighed, and shook her head, "These people must have written the textbook on enigmatic," she muttered.


	7. Wishes and Reunions

_In which JJ gets to have a good cry, which always makes us girls feel a little better._

_

* * *

  
_

**Wishes and Reunions**

The moon had begun its downward arc across the sky; JJ knew that the horizon would soon be glowing with the dawn, and that her time would be up just as quickly, so she ran, doing her best to ignore every twinge and pang that her ankle gave, praying that the tortured joint would hold up long enough to get her home.

After a while, her run slowed to a jog, and then to a brisk walk, until finally she had to stop, gasping for breath and gritting her teeth against the burning in her muscles. She had made it to a circular patch of lawn, at the center of which was a fountain, the gurgling of which made her suddenly aware that she was incredibly parched. It was by this fountain that she half-collapsed, yanking the now-tattered silk gloves off, cupping her hands into the clear water and drinking deeply. Briefly, she wondered if drinking anything in the Labyrinth was a good idea, but she was thirsty enough not to particularly care.

When that thirst was finally quenched, she rested her head against the cool marble lip of the fountain and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths to steady herself. After a moment, she achingly came to her feet and turned, only to nearly collapse again, this time in shock, as a figure appeared in front of her. Taking shape from moonlight and shadow, it took a second for the apparition to form completely, but when it did, JJ sat down abruptly on the edge of the fountain, her heart pounding painfully.

"Mom?" she whispered. The woman now standing in front of her smiled lovingly, and approached her, bending forward and placing a kiss on her forehead. Her red hair, lighter than JJ's in color, seemed to glitter ever so slightly, and her eyes glowed silver moonlight, but there was no mistaking her mother.

Tears stung JJ's eyes and she flung herself into her mother's arms, sobbing quietly.

Her mother held her, stroking her hair and murmuring soft words of comfort in her ear.

After a long moment, her mother coaxed her into kneeling on the grass beside the fountain and resting her head on her lap.

"I'm so proud of you, Jules," mother whispered, gently combing her fingers through her daughter's curls. At the use of her childhood nickname, JJ's sobs quieted, and a smile found its way to her face, and she managed a choked, "I've missed you, mom."  
"I've missed you too, Jules. But we're together now, and you don't have to fight anymore. We can be together here, forever."

Reality threatened to come crashing in on JJ, but she resisted it, closing her eyes and focusing on her mother's nonsense words.

"I'm sorry, mom," she sniffled, "I'm sorry for being such a disappointment, for not being a good daughter--"  
"Hush now, sweetheart," her mother chided, "I couldn't be more proud of you. You've never been a disappointment to me."

For a long time, JJ stayed there, allowing herself to cry silently, and take comfort from her mother's assurances. Even after the gentle hand had stopped stroking her hair, and her head was resting against the marble rim of the fountain instead of her mother's lap, she stayed.

A smooth, familiar voice beside her intoned, "It's called _An Tobair du Mhian_: The fountain of desire. One taste of its waters will give you a glimpse of your heart's desire."

JJ turned her head to look up at the Goblin King, seated on the rim beside her, looking up at the moon, his hands folded on his lap.

"How long has it been?" he asked, softly.

JJ sighed, "Seven years. We'd gotten into a fight that morning, before I left for school. I don't even remember what about. And it… it happened so suddenly, I never got the chance to apologize."

He looked down at her, and held her gaze for a long moment, before saying, "Many runners have wasted their time here, lost in the illusion of the Mhian. Another taste will buy you more time with her, but it will be hollow, an empty echo of what you lost so long ago."

"I know. I won't spend my life in an illusion. I'll always grieve for her… but I know she wouldn't want me to give up now."

Jareth smiled, and gracefully stood, bowing slightly at the waist and holding his hand out to her. She took it, allowing him to pull her to her feet, and he caught her by the shoulders when she staggered a bit.

"You've torn your dress," he scolded, gathering her discarded gloves off of the ground and running his hands over them. The silk became clean and white once again, and when he handed them to her, he touched the sleeve of her dress, and it also became clean, the gashes from the sphinx's claws mending. "And your face his a mess," he added, brushing one finger against her cheek. Immediately, her tears dried, and the burning in her eyes and stuffy nose brought on by crying dissipated, all traces of her breakdown gone in a blink.

"Thank you," she said, managing a smile. He nodded, and she turned away, choosing a new path to take and starting towards it.

After a few steps, he was at her side again, "Mind if I walk with you?" he asked.

JJ shrugged, "It's your Labyrinth."  
"True, but I wouldn't want harassment to be added to the list of charges against me," he retorted with a wink.

"Too late for that," JJ answered with a snort.

Jareth chuckled, "I was attempting politeness."

"I thought Goblins weren't supposed to be polite?"  
"Ah, yes. As you might have noticed, I'm not a Goblin. Merely their King, and as such, manners are occasionally required."

"You rule a race of insane, notoriously rude and mischievous beings, and they still expect you to know the difference between a salad fork and a fish fork? Doesn't sound very fair."

"No it doesn't, but that's not the half of it. So tell me: How are you enjoying my Labyrinth?"

"Apart from all the things that have tried to eat me so far? It's okay."

He paused and raised an eyebrow indignantly, "It's… _Okay_?"

JJ threw a smirk at him over her shoulder, "The disappearing/reappearing Library is a nice touch, I'll admit."

He caught up to her again, "Wonderful save on your part, my dear, but I will not allow the 'okay' remark to slip."

Grinning wolfishly, he summoned a crystal, and threw it down the corridor. It bounced a few times, and then shattered a dozen or so yards away, the pieces bursting into flames.

JJ stared, curious, as the flames formed into five figures. They were about seven feet tall, with bright orange fur and huge glowing red eyes. They were somewhat ape-like, but sported beak-like snouts, and, to JJ's fascination, they began removing their body parts and tossing them around to each other, particularly their heads, switching them around as if they were all dolls, laughing maniacally and singing.

"What are they?" JJ asked.

The Goblin King's tone was darkly amused, "Fireys. They love to play, and they love it even more when Runners join their game."

"Their game?"

The Fireys unanimously seemed to notice JJ, and began shouting excitedly about a 'New Player."  
JJ could hear the smirk in Jareth's voice as he explained, "Exchanging body parts and throwing them as far as they can. Particularly heads. It's such a shame that human heads are not as easily removed, or reattached."

JJ growled as the Fireys began bounding towards her, "You're a jerk."  
His lips brushed against her ear as he chuckled, "I know."

And with that, he was gone, traces of glitter disappearing on the ground.

***

By the time JJ lost the Fireys, she was sporting bruises on her arms and neck from where the creatures had managed to get close enough to tug on her, insisting that they remove a body part, otherwise she'd be disqualified from the game.

Fortunately, she'd escaped them before any damage could be done. Unfortunately, it was managed by her falling into another oubliette.

She spent a good ten minutes in the black hole, feeling around for any kind of escape. Twice, she'd tripped over a large wooden plank of sorts, which at first she'd hoped was a trap door, but closer inspection revealed it to be just a plank, and now, she was sitting on the floor, glaring up at the patch of starlit sky she could see through the grate covering the oubliette's entrance.

Suddenly, something furry brushed against her arm, and she leapt away from it with a startled shriek, which brought an irritable response from the intruder.

"You'll face down a kelpie without making a peep, but one little goblin touches your arm and you squeal like a tea kettle?"

JJ sat up straighter, panic becoming disbelieving hope, "Nobbiggo?"

A match was lit, and then a lantern blossomed to life, revealing the feline features of the King's Advisor. He grinned, and combed his whiskers, "_Naturellement_. Come on then, poppet, let's get you out of here."

He went over to the plank, propped it up against the wall, and then, to JJ's surprise, opened it like a door. It led out into a tunnel, and JJ wasted no time in following the cat-goblin out of the oubliette.

"How did you find me?" she asked.

Nobbiggo grinned at her, "Goblins have their ways. Now hurry, you haven't got much--"

A sudden chorus of booming voices startled JJ, "Turn back!"

"This is not the way!"  
"Take heed, and go no further!"

JJ looked, and found the source of the voices to be a bunch of faces carved into the stone wall.

Nobbiggo was less than impressed, "You stone-brained twits, she's already going back."  
"You mean," one of the faces questioned, sounding disappointed, "You're not going to the Castle beyond the Goblin City?"  
JJ shook her head, and the face sighed, "Oh all _right_ then, go on and spoil our fun. No one listens to us anymore."  
Nobbiggo rolled his eyes and took JJ's hand, tugging her after him, "Pay them no mind, JJ, they're just false alarms. They're *supposed* to frighten people off of the right track, but…"  
"But?"

"Let's just say a few thousand years and they still don't do their job right."  
JJ glanced over her shoulder and gave the stone faces a sympathetic smile, "Sorry about this."  
"Oh it's all right," one of them answered, resignedly, "We're used to it."

Not long after, Nobbiggo led her up a ladder, and they came out of a well and into a hedge maze. JJ noted with some delight that the castle was farther away than it had ever been, and that the horizon was still dark with night.

"Nobb, it looks like we're making progress!" She exclaimed, grinning down at the Goblin.

"Nothing as it seems," he cautioned, tiredly.

JJ cocked her head, and offered her hand to him, "What's wrong? You sound unhappy."

He shook his head, not taking her hand, "Just sad. Your journey will be over soon."

JJ frowned slightly, but didn't answer. She turned, and started down a promising-looking path. When it turned into a dead end after a few yards, she came back out and picked the next one.

After a few moments, Nobbiggo caught up to her, linking his paw between her fingers. JJ squeezed the paw gently, saying, "Thanks for finding me, Nobb."

He didn't answer, but squeezed her fingers in return, and they fell into a companionable silence.

Every so often, a shadow would flutter, and JJ would see the Owl from the corner of her eye, following at a distance.

Nobbiggo glared at it, but otherwise did not acknowledge its presence. After an hour, they were out of the hedge, and into a sandstone maze once more, and the castle kept growing further and further away.

JJ was about to comment on their progress when her stomach tightened painfully and gave a growl, reminding her exactly how long it had been since she'd eaten.

She bit her lip, trying to think of something to focus on besides her hungry, when Nobbiggo let go of her hand and pulled something from the pocket of his vest. He pressed it into JJ's hand, and when she looked, it was a perfectly ripened peach.

She looked questioningly at Nobbiggo, and he sighed, "You have to eat something. I know it's not much but--"  
"It's wonderful, Nobb," JJ interjected, kneeling beside him and hugging him, "You've been the best to me ever since my cousin wished me away, and I appreciate it so much."

She didn't see the Owl land on the wall behind her, nor did she see the guilty look Nobbiggo gave it. He quickly turned the look into a smile when JJ stood.

"Go on then," he urged, "Before someone mistakes your stomach growling for a disgruntled dragon."  
JJ smirked, thanked him again, and raised the peach to her lips.

* * *

_-le gasp- Cliffhanger!_


	8. Poison Dreams and Bitter Disappointment

_In which we say, "Oh teh Noez"._

_Labyrinth is not mine, I do this because I have no social life._

_

* * *

  
_

**Poisoned dreams and bitter disappointment**

The sweet juice of the peach cascaded over her tongue, its flavor the very essence of the warm summer afternoons that had blushed its soft flesh, and she smiled at its perfection. Her smile fell however, as soon as she swallowed; the taste became cloying, twisting her stomach and causing her to feel faint. As she slumped to the ground, the peach falling from her suddenly nerveless fingers, the last thing she was aware of was Nobbiggo's paw against her forehead, and his voice mumbling an apology.

***

Her eyes snapped open and she sat up with a startled gasp that turned into a cry of alarm as she tumbled off of the couch/

She pushed herself to her feet, only to fall over the coffee table in front of the couch, landing face down on the floor, growling profanities into the plush carpet.

A man's voice chuckled, "Really, JJ, I hope you weren't using that language in front of Jeremy."

JJ raised her head and found her uncle sitting in a recliner, reading a newspaper.

Confusion brought an articulate "Wha…?" from her lips, and her uncle chuckled again, "I got home late. Jeremy was in bed, and you were passed out on the couch. You were really out of it, so I let you be."  
Comprehension was taking its own sweet time to reach JJ's brain, and she stared at her uncle blankly, "But… how'd I get here?"  
"Well, your car is still in the drive, so-- JJ, are you all right?"

Karl stood, and went to help her up, examining her with growing concern, "You didn't get drunk last night or anything, did you?"

JJ glanced around the room, which was unmistakably Karl's living room, not a detail out of place. No goblins, no maze, no glitter-poofing monarchs.

"It was a dream?" she questioned, taking a step back and taking stock of her appearance. The bruises and scratches from her misadventure were nowhere to be found. The ball gown was gone as well, leaving her with two pink socks, flared low-rise jeans, and rumpled t-shirt.

Her uncle sighed and patted her shoulder, "If it was a dream, it must've been one hell of a ride. Come on, shake the cobwebs out of that head of yours, and let's get you home."

JJ blinked, and suddenly she was in her car, on her way home. With some confusion, she realized that she didn't remember getting into the car. She didn't even remember putting on her shoes or finding her keys, but surely she must have, because her shoes were on, and the car was cruising down the residential street. And then, she remembered. Of course she'd put on her shoes, the laces of one had gotten into a knot and she spent a good five minutes untangling them, and then she'd had to find her keys because they'd slipped beneath the cushions of the couch.  
She shook her head, willing herself to focus, and promising herself a strong cup of coffee once she got home.

_I'm still just shaken over that weird dream,_ she realized, _I just need to forget it, that's all._

The details of her dream were already blurring and fading away, and by the time her car pulled into her driveway, the only thing she remembered was that it had something to do with a maze.

She got out of the car, practically skipped up the steps to the porch and went to unlock the front door, only to find that it hadn't been locked in the first place.

_That's weird_, she mused, _I must've forgotten last night._ With a shrug, she went in, and started for the stairs to her bedroom to change her clothes, but the scents and sounds of bacon frying in the kitchen stopped her dead in her tracks.

She lived alone, with no boyfriends or housemates or anyone to rightfully be in her kitchen while she was away, and while technically the house belonged to her father, he lived abroad, lecturing in Universities and studying anthropology and archeology.

Grabbing an umbrella from where it leaned in its corner and brandishing it like a club, she stalked towards the kitchen, wondering what kind of burglar takes time to cook in the house he's robbing.

Her question was soon answered, as the chef stepped out of the kitchen and into the hallway, startling JJ into dropping the umbrella.

"Dad?!"

"Good morning, sweetheart!" her father greeted, smiling affectionately and embracing her, "How was your night at Karl's? I trust Jeremy wasn't too much of a handful?"

JJ stared at the man in shock, "Dad, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I live here, last I checked," he laughed, slinging an arm around her shoulders and guiding her into the kitchen.

"… since when?" JJ questioned, struggling and failing to keep the incredulity from her voice.

Andrew Jones hadn't set foot in the New Jersey house since the death of his wife, not even to visit his daughter when she'd moved back in after finishing her education. The day after Anna's funeral, he'd packed, shipped JJ off to a boarding school, and had disappeared abroad, keeping in contact with his family only through the occasional letter or postcard.

And now, here he was, buzzing about the kitchen as if he'd never left, his daughter staring at him as if he'd grown a second head.

"Stop gawping, July, it's most unbecoming," he chided, "How about some coffee?"

Without waiting for an answer, he pressed a warm mug into his daughter's hands, and continued making breakfast.

The wrongness of the situation made JJ squirm, and she felt like her brain was itching, "Dad, what's going on?"

"What, can't a man make breakfast for his family without starting an inquisition?" he laughed, flipping a pancake with practiced ease.

"Inquisition?" another voice asked from the door way, "Oh dear, Andrew, you didn't start another one of those, did you?"

Andrew laughed while JJ turned to face the new comer. Her heart stopped, and the room began to spin, "Mom?"

"Good morning, sweetie," her mother said, placing a kiss on her cheek and then moving to wrap her arms around her husband's waist.

JJ stared at them, her emotions flipping from unquestioning joy to terrified confusion.

_What the hell is going on?!_

And that's when she saw the clock. It was a normal clock, with a black plastic frame and a plain round face. It had hung in the kitchen for as long as she could remember, but try as she might, she could not remember it having thirteen hours instead of twelve, nor could she recall the hands ticking _backwards_.

Her mother was speaking to her, but she couldn't hear her words. In fact, the only things she could hear were the pounding in her head, and the shattering of the coffee mug as it fell from her hands to the floor.

The crash brought her back to reality, and immediately she was on her hands and knees, gathering the pieces and mumbling an apology.

Her mother helped her clean up the mess, asking, "Jules, are you feeling all right? You look rather pale…"

JJ looked back up at the clock, and saw only twelve numbers, and the hands moving in the direction that they were meant to go. She stared back at her mother. Sunlight streamed through the window and caught the silver strands in her otherwise red hair, and laugh lines crinkled around her eyes and mouth, worry furrowing a line between her brows.

She held one hand against her daughter's forehead, and it was a warm, solid hand; not the hand of a woman who'd been dead for seven years.

"Mom," JJ asked, willing her voice not to shake, "Is it possible to dream that someone you loved died a long time ago, and the dream felt so real that you still believed it when you woke up?"

"Oh honey… did you dream that I had died?"

JJ felt a hot tear slid down her cheek as she nodded, "I… I thought you'd died, and dad had left… and then I went to Uncle Karl's to watch Jeremy, and there was this maze, and I kept getting lost, but part of me didn't want to leave because I didn't think I had a reason to, and it was just--"

Anna gathered her now sobbing daughter into a hug, which her father joined in, wrapping his arms around both women and promising, "We're not going anywhere, Jules. We would never, ever leave you."

JJ blinked, and she was out in the garden, basking in sudden afternoon light.

Where did the morning go? she wondered for a moment, before remembering having breakfast with her family, and then standing on the front porch with her mom, waving at her dad as he pulled down the driveway to head to work, and then passing the morning by helping her mother with daily chores.

Of course it's afternoon. You just weren't paying attention to the time.

She shook herself, and moved to examine the enormous lilac bush that had been growing in the garden since before her family had bought the house.

On a warm afternoon such as this, the lilacs would saturate the whole garden with their intoxicating sent, but as JJ approached the bush, she realized with some concern that she couldn't smell the light purple blossoms, though each branch of the bush was bursting with them.

"I wonder what's wrong with me," she questioned aloud, "First that dream, then losing track of time, and now--"  
"Talking in your sleep?" a tiny, high-pitched voice queried.

Startled, JJ followed the direction of the voice, which seemed to come from the bush. A bright blue caterpillar, wearing a pink apron, was perched on a branch, studying her with two large brown eyes.

JJ stared at the caterpillar, unsure of which idea to freak out over first: the idea that the caterpillar was, indeed, wearing an apron, or the idea that it had just talked to her.

When it continued to stare at her, she considered the idea that it had just been her imagination, but then it spoke again, "You really shouldn't sleep out here, you know, it's bad for the posture."

"I'm not asleep," JJ protested, "And besides, you shouldn't talk to people, it's worse for them than sleeping outside."

The caterpillar shook her head, sadly, "Oh you poor dear. Here, why don't you be a love and wake up, and I'll fetch you a nice cup of tea, how's that sound?"

"I'm not asleep!" JJ nearly shouted. "If I was asleep, I'd be dreaming!"  
"If you're not dreaming," The caterpillar calmly replied, "Then how come you're arguing with a blue caterpillar?"

JJ blinked, Logic error.

Suddenly, she was falling, and then she was awake, stretched out on a hard, stony floor, staring up at a grey sky that was rapidly blushing with the coming dawn. She twitched, every muscle sore from lying on the cold ground, and she slowly shifted with a groan.

The Labyrinth was stirring as well, agonizingly real, crushing the last wisps of the drug-induced dream with its existence

JJ took a deep breath, and her lungs ached as they stretched, as if they'd gone too long unused, and the sudden flow of oxygen brought her to full lucidity with a sharp jab of panic: Time was nearly out.

She scrambled to her feet, and once she was certain she could do so without falling over, she ran.

Unnoticed by her, perched in a crack in the wall, the blue caterpillar shook its head after the fleeing human, sighing, "You should ever argue with a blue caterpillar."

As she ran, the sandstone became dark, lichen-covered brick, and she was soon jumping to avoid fallen branches The corridor seemed to stretch on forever, and as she continued to run it, she became increasingly apprehensive, and would not have noticed the opening if not for a branch lying half-way in it.

She stopped to glance down the turn, to see if it would be any more promising, and her heart soared when she saw the gate, a few hundred yards away. Exhilaration became panic, however, when the walls of the labyrinth began to move in slowly, starting to cut her off from the gate.

She started towards it, as fast as she could run, twisting side ways a few times to squeeze past the shifting walls, and she was nearly half-way when the first clock tower time began to sound.

_One… two… three…_

The skirt of her gown was caught and torn when a wall sealed itself closed.

_Six… seven… eight…_

"Oh no you _don't,_" she growled as another wall started to raise up from the ground. She vaulted over it, and landed hard, crying out as her ankle assaulted her with shattering pain.

_Ten… eleven… twelve…_

She threw her weight against the enormous doors, just as the last echo of the thirteenth chime faded. A thick chain snaked into existence, twining between the handles and sealing itself with a padlock that clicked shut with unmistakable finality.

JJ screamed at it, pounding her fists against the wood, begging out loud, "Please, open up, _please!!!_"

All to no avail.

The Labyrinth fell silent and still as she slumped to the ground, the gravity of her failure crushing against her.

"_No," _she whispered, staring at the lock, unaware of the tears that were now streaming down her face.

Despite her denial, there was no escaping the truth of the matter.

She had lost.

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_I can haz review, plz?_


	9. Silver Linings

_In which JJ admits defeat, Jareth dislikes Chicken-Bohemian Chic, and we meet Elise._

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**Silver Linings**

"Well, what have we here?"

JJ turned to glare at the owner of the smug voice, anger and pride driving her to her feet to confront him.

He smirked at her show of defiance, "Looks like our Miss JJ didn't make it as far as she thought she would."  
"Made it farther than you thought, at least," JJ snapped, folding her arms across her chest and looking away from him, glaring at the ground.

Jareth gave a bored sigh as he adjusted his gloves, "To be honest, I rather thought you were going to make it. All the way up until you took that peach. A good thing that I had the foresight to order Nobbiggo to give it to you, should it appear that you might actually win.

JJ turned on him, looking as if she just might hit him, "You bastard, you _cheated!!!"_

"Of course I cheated," The Goblin King replied, now taking slow, measured steps towards her, "Just as I did when I healed your ankle. And when I saved you from the Kelpie. And when I allowed the Librarian to rescue you from the Sphinx."

His tone was low, and dangerous, all traces of conceit and boredom replaced by something that JJ was quite certain to be hazardous to her health, and in spite of her wounded pride, she retreated.

"Had I played by the rules," Jareth half-purred, smirking as his advance forced JJ against the wall, "I would not have been able to intervene on your behalf. I allowed you to take the challenge, I assisted you when you needed it, and I did not actively detain you when you made progress, nor did I force-feed you that enchanted peach."

He was inches away from her now, one hand against the wall beside her shoulder to support his weight as he leaned in, near enough for JJ to smell the peaches-and-spice that she'd noticed the first time he'd been this close.

His other hand gripped her chin, gently but firmly preventing her from shrinking away from him, "So you see, Precious, if not for my habit of 'cheating', you would never have had a chance."

_He's right,_ JJ thought, reluctantly, _You can't pick and choose when someone is allowed to cheat, and I'd be dead without his help…_

She swallowed her nervousness, and managed a weak glare, "Fine. You're not a _total_ bastard. And… I'm sorry for being a sore loser."

For a second, he seemed surprised by her admission, but immediately the surprise was replaced by a crooked grin, "Admitting your defeat so quickly, my dear?"

He released her and took a step back, and JJ shrugged, "Just this once. Don't get used to it."

He offered his arm to her with a smirk, and reluctantly, she took it.

The Labyrinth disappeared and became the throne room, which JJ was shocked to find inhabited by hard-partying goblins, and a flock of black chickens, all of which seemed to be slaughtering a rousing rendition of "Ave Maria".

Feathers flew, beer flowed, and the noise was enough to instantly induce a migraine.

JJ nearly jumped out of her skin as Jareth bellowed, "OI! You lot have fifteen minutes to clear up this disaster area before I start bogging you all! AND THAT INCLUDES THE BLOODY CHICKENS!!"

As the chaos suddenly gained purpose, JJ questioned, "Bogging?"

Jareth picked a chicken up off of the seat of his throne and tossed it to a scurrying goblin, then explained, "The Bog of Eternal Stench. It's quite the Incentive when dealing with unruly subjects."

He sank into the cushions of the throne, lounging instead of sitting, and motioned for JJ to sit down at the foot of it.

She obeyed, much to the gratitude of her abused ankle, and said, "I suppose Goblins and beer can be a rather volatile mix, but… why chickens?"

The king snorted, "I've been trying to figure that out for the last hundred or so years."

In record time, all goblins and chickens had vacated the premises, leaving the castle in blessed silence.

Jareth heaved a sigh of relief, "Thank the gods… On an average day, Goblins never set foot within the castle unless it's to make a petition, but when there's a runner, things tend to get a little… hectic."

He flicked a downy feather off of his shoulder, and surveyed the damage with an exhausted look, "Thank the gods also that I don't have to clean up after them."

JJ chuckled, "I dunno, it's kind of a nice look… very Bohemian, maybe you should let them be in charge of interior decoration on a more permanent scale?"

Jareth growled, "Do not try my patience, pet."

JJ's reply was stayed by the entry of five or six people, dressed in plain but neat uniform clothes. The women wore black cotton dresses with white aprons, and the men wore white shirts with black breeches. Each was armed with a cleaning implement, and they immediately set to work sweeping, scrubbing, mopping and dusting.

JJ took it as a cue, and slowly got to her feet, ignoring the stiff pain settling into her muscles, "Well, I guess I might as well seize the day… mind putting me in something a bit more work appropriate, your majesty?" she asked, fingering the skirt of her ball gown.

The Goblin King stared at her as if she'd grown a second head, "I beg your pardon?"

"Not that I don't appreciate the dress, I'm just not sure it's a good scrubbing sort of thing."

One elegant eyebrow arched at that, "Scrubbing? What are you going on about, child?"

JJ motioned towards the cleaning crew, and Jareth laughed outright, to JJ's annoyance.

"Silly girl, those are the servants… they're _paid_ to keep my castle in good order. Not very much, I'll admit, but they're provided room and board as well as a salary. Beyond that, they are free people, to come and go as they wish. You-- and I know you won't like it, but bear with me-- you belong to me now. Well, to the Labyrinth in technicality, but to me by proxy. You are a prize, a testament to the infallibility of the Labyrinth, as well as an example of my generosity. Hiding you away below stairs would defeat the purpose of keeping you here."

JJ did bristle at the thought of being 'owned', but she held her tongue, reminding herself that flying off the handle would only make things uncomfortable. When she was able to speak without gritting her teeth, she asked, "So what am I supposed to do, then?"

Jareth summoned a crystal to his fingertips and began lazily rolling it over his hand, watching it twirl without interest, "You're to learn courtly manners and diplomacy. Perhaps a language or two. Court fashion, the latest gossip. You'll be groomed into a perfect Lady of the Court."  
JJ couldn't help but snort, "Good luck with that," to which Jareth replied with a smirk, before continuing, "The High Court of my Father is insisting that I take on a queen in a timely manner. Once I do, you'll take your place as her Lady-in-Waiting. But enough chit-chat. Elise?"

One of the maids, a pretty brown-haired, blue-eyed girl of twenty or so, set down her duster and approached the throne, dropping a graceful curtsey, "My liege?"

"Elise, this is July Jones. Could you be so kind as to take her to her room, and see that she is made comfortable?"

Elise nodded, and motioned for JJ to follow her. When JJ hesitated, the maid gently took her arm and pulled her away.

JJ glanced questioningly over her shoulder, but Jareth's attention had become suddenly focused on the crystal in his hand, and she was led from the throne room, down a series of halls as confusing as the labyrinth outside of the castle.

JJ felt familiarity in the pattern, and asked, "Elise, is the castle part of the maze itself?"

The maid nodded, "Yes, though it's not nearly as active. Occasionally, when the Labyrinth is feeling feisty, though, you'll go through a door that used to lead to the dining room and find yourself in the throne room instead."

She led her up a wide marble staircase, continuing, "Your room is going to be on the same floor as the Royal Chambers, so don't be surprised if you are called upon to temporarily wait on visiting Royalty."  
"By visiting Royalty, you mean 'visiting Potential Goblin Queens'?"

Elise chuckled, "Precisely. As a Lady-in-Waiting, you'll become one of the Queen's confidants. Visits before an engagement is announced is as much an opportunity for you to get to know her as it is for the King."

JJ nodded, "I'll keep that in mind."

They stopped in front of an intricately carved wooden door, and Elise produced a key from a pocket of her apron, and unlocked it.

"His Majesty had us air out the room after he sent you out into the Labyrinth," she said, guiding JJ to a large, four-poster bed and motioning for her to sit down, before going through another doorway. A moment later, the sound of water running from a tap reached her ears, and JJ got up to investigate.

The other room proved to be a bathroom, the centerpiece of which was a large copper bathtub, which Elise was filling with steaming hot water.

After it was filled, she turned off the tap, and, in spite of her protests, helped JJ out of the ball gown, and into the hot water.

She then laid out a fluffy white towel, and handed a bar of scented soap to the now ecstatic JJ, who wrinkled her nose when she smelled the soap, "Peach scented?"  
Elise chuckled, "Peaches are his Majesty's favorite."  
"So I noticed," JJ grumbled, working the soap into a lather anyway.

Laughing again, Elise started for the door, "Enjoy the bath, Miss. I'll be back in while with a bite to eat."

When she was gone, JJ did enjoy the bath to its fullest extent, stretching her sore muscles and sighing contentedly as the hot water eased the tension out of her body.

By the time she got out, the water had grown tepid, her fingers and toes had thoroughly pruned, and the pain in her ankle was a distant memory.

Wrapping herself in the towel, she padded out into the bedroom, and flopped down on the bed, which was its own level of Heaven. The mattress was neither too firm, nor too soft, and JJ fought to keep her eyes open… a fight she soon lost.

The next thing she knew, Elise was gently shaking her awake, "Miss? Miss, you need to get up now."  
JJ was tempted to whine, _Five more minutes,_ like a kid, but she resisted, and opened her eyes.

She was still in the glorious bed, with the towel still wrapped around her, but the sunlight outside had gone from early morning to late afternoon.

"How long was I out?" JJ asked in surprise.

"About eight hours or so," Elise answered, lifting a plate off of the bedside table and handing it to JJ, "I checked on you earlier, but you were dead to the world, so I left you alone. But His Nibs says you have to eat something, so here you are."  
The plate contained a sandwich that was either chicken or turkey-- remembering the throne room, JJ leaned towards chicken-- and some fruit, grapes to be precise.

JJ took a hesitant bite of the sandwich, and then had to struggle to refrain from wolfing it down like a barbarian. Her attempts at civility were not entirely successful, and Elise had a chuckle at her expense, before going to a third door in the room and flinging it open. She reached in, and pulled out a simple green dress with a black leather corset.

She laid the dress on the bed beside JJ, and then returned to the closet to retrieve a pair of matching green slippers.

Popping the last of the grapes into her mouth, JJ asked, "I have clothes?"

Elise smiled, and plucked a napkin off of the table and handed it to her, "Of course, silly. You have everything you'll ever need. His Majesty does not neglect his subjects."

JJ wiped her mouth and fingers carefully before folding the napkin and setting it and the plate on the table, "Speaking of His Tightness, what's he been up to?"

Elise stared at the redhead in shock, "Wh-- what did you just call him?"

JJ gathered up the dress and went behind the dressing screen, "Oh come on. Pants like that deserve their own nickname. Don't tell me you guys haven't thought up something along the same lines."

Elise was too busy cackling to answer for a moment, and JJ grinned as she slipped the dress on, and fastened the corset around her waist. Instead of tying, the corset had delicate yet sturdy buckles in front, which gave the whole dress a subtle outdoors appearance, like something to go riding or hunting in, and it suited JJ perfectly.

She came out from behind the screen as Elise was regaining her composure, but still grinning broadly, "You know," she said, "When you were sleeping, Jareth told me we'd get along… I don't think he realized the implications of that."

JJ felt a grin stretch her own face, "In that case, being stuck here might not be so bad. Adapt and Overcome, I guess…"

_Unbeknownst to both girls, a crystal sphere containing their images was balanced on the fingertips of a distant observer, a cruel smirk twisting his features, dark eyes flashing with gleeful malice._

"_Oh yes, you precious thing… Adapt and Overcome. Your new Lord and Master will not have power over you for very long, I can assure you…"_

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_Oh yes. Evil is afoot. :D _

_I hate to beg, but... please review?_


	10. Lessons Begin

_In which JJ and Nobbiggo make amends, Jareth lets his hair down, and Sinister Villain is Sinister._

_I do not own Labyrinth_

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**Lessons Begin**

What followed next was a tour of the castle, starting in the kitchens and working their way up, and JJ memorized each corridor as best she could to avoid getting lost.

After a long hour, they stopped in front of a door that was not as intricately carved as the rest, bearing only an image of the medallion that was always around Jareth's neck.

"This is His Majesty's study. When he's not in Court, he prefers to deal with matters of the Kingdom here," Elise explained, "Though sometimes I think he just comes here to steal a nap--"  
"Elise," a smooth voice behind them scolded, "Don't go giving away all my secrets, now."  
JJ was startled, but Elise simply turned and dropped into a curtsey, grinning, "Your majesty."

After a second, JJ followed suit with a curtsey of her own, though not as gracefully executed, and Jareth chuckled, "I hate to cut your tour short, Miss Jones, but I'm afraid something rather urgent has come up: You have three days from tomorrow to prepare for a Ball."  
Elise balked, "Three days?! She'll never be ready in time!"

Jareth looked apologetic, "I'm sorry to put the pressure on you, Elise, but I must insist. The High King believes that he's found the perfect princess for my kingdom, and demands that I host a Ball to entertain her as soon as possible."  
Elise made a face, but curtsied once again, "Yes, your majesty. May we have the use of your library, then?"

"Of course," he turned to JJ, and took her hand, "July, this is your home now, feel free to make use of any resources that you require, and do not hesitate to call for assistance."

"You're being nice again," JJ warned, smirking a little.

Jareth grinned a little wickedly, "Oh, forgive me, I shall strive to be a cruel slave-driver in the future. Until then," he bowed slightly, "I leave you in the capable hands of Elise."

Winking at the maid, he turned on his heel, and disappeared.

JJ flicked a stray speck of glitter off of the sleeve of her gown, and sighed, "Does that man ever just _walk_ anywhere?"

Elise snickered, "Not if he can help it. Come on, let's get started, you've got a lot of reading to do."

The Library was larger than any JJ had ever seen, with shelves from floor to vaulted ceiling, packed with books of all sizes, and genres. She even caught sight of the well-known _Harry Potter_ series and started towards that shelf with a delighted 'squee!' but Elise held her back, "Work first, play later."  
JJ pouted, but allowed Elise to steer her to an over-stuffed chair behind a desk. The maid then immediately flew around the room, gathering dusty old books of various subjects, and plunking them down on the desk.

JJ read the titles and wrinkled her nose, "_Etiquette and Protocol in the Modern Court… A Brief History of the Goblin Realm… Politeness and Good Breeding? _You're trying to torture me, aren't you."

Elise chuckled, and patted her on the head, "Get started on those, I'll be back in a bit to help you get the basics."

She left, and JJ resignedly picked up the first book and began reading it.

An hour later, Elise hadn't returned, and JJ was slumped over the desk, her face pressed into the open book, muttering profanities into its pages.

Someone cleared their throat, and she blearily looked up to find none other than Nobbiggo perched on the desk, sitting ramrod straight with enough poise to make the Egyptian Sphinx envious.

Too brain-dead to think of a cutting remark, JJ settled with grumbling, "Go away, you cat, I'm busy."

One of the goblin's furry brows twitched upwards, "For someone so intently studying etiquette, you certainly seem to have forgotten your manners."

JJ slumped over the desk again, "For your information, I'm not 'studying', I'm 'sulking'. Why don't you go poison someone else and let me wallow in peace?"

"You didn't strike me as the grudging type of person," Nobbiggo observed, tilting his head to one side and twitching his ears.

JJ glowered, "Oh, I grudge. Now, leave me alone before I grudge you straight out the window."

"I'm sure that to someone in your current mental state, that made perfect sense."

"Not really, but it's the intent that counts."

"Of course."

The corner of his mouth twitched into a smirk, and JJ felt her scowl softening, in spite of herself. Resignedly, she asked, "What _do_ you want, Nobbiggo?"

The goblin took a deep breath, "I… I won't apologize for my actions. It is my duty and my honor to obey the command of my King. However… I am sorry that my obedience caused you pain, and cost you your freedom. I came in hopes that it had not cost me your friendship in return."

JJ propped her chin on one fist and eyed the goblin with reluctant admiration, "You're a smooth-talking little bugger, no wonder Jareth keeps you around."

A grin stretched Nobbiggo's face, "A diplomatic goblin is a valuable companion to have."  
An idea struck JJ, and she sat up a bit straighter, "Tell you what: I won't hold the peach thing against you, if you help me get ready for the Ball."

Nobbiggo winced, "Oh yes, Jareth told me about that before sending me in here."  
"Wait… he _sent _you here?"

He nodded, "He insisted that I resolve any potential resentment between us before it could become a problem."

JJ leaned on the desk again, this time resting her head on the crook of her elbow, "If I didn't know better, I'd say that was sweet of him."

Nobbiggo gave her a solemn look, "JJ, you belong to the King, which means your well-being reflects upon him as a ruler. If you are unhappy for any reason that he could prevent, it will reflect badly."

JJ grimaced, "Oh great. So the New Pet is a measure of how good a king he is?"  
"It's not that simple," Nobbiggo explained patiently, "Yes, how he treats you does in some part indicate his fairness as a ruler, but it goes deeper than that. Your defeat brings strength and power to the Labyrinth."  
"Come again?"

"The Labyrinth is fed by Dreams, particularly the Dreams of mortals, like yourself. When a person is wished into the care of the Labyrinth, that person's dreams become part of it, strengthening it and nourishing it. Every human that you find in this realm is a Wished Away, and their Dreams keep the Labyrinth alive."

JJ leaned back, "So, people like me, the Wished Away… basically, as long as they're happy, the Labyrinth is happy?"

Nobbiggo nodded, "Yes. Well, since Jareth became King. The previous rulers were not as wise when dealing with mortals and their needs. When Jareth took the Goblin throne, he changed quite a few laws, and the way Wished Away are treated. Now, instead of being treated like slaves, they are given places within the Court. Some of them leave the castle when they become adults, and make trades for themselves out in the realm."

"When I first got here, you said no adults had been wished away before," she remembered, "Does that change anything for me, already being an adult?"

"The fact that you're an adult won't change anything," he answered, "But, the fact that you ran the Labyrinth to regain your freedom, that will most definitely have significant influence in how people view you."  
"To what extent?"

"Some of them will romanticize you, think of you as a sort of Tragic Heroine. You might even gain a reputation to equal that of Lady Sarah."

JJ noticed the way Nobbiggo's voice dropped a bit when he said the name, and she followed suit, "Who was that?"  
Nobbiggo grimaced, "The last person to run the Labyrinth before you. She wished her baby brother away, but won him back. We find it best not to talk about it."

"Why?"

He hesitated, but then acquiesced, "I'll explain later. We have more important things to worry about now, such as making sure you don't start a war at the Ball."

He winked at her, then clapped his paws, making all the books vanish, and reappear on their shelves.

"You won't learn anything by staring at scribbles on paper," he announced, "The best way to learn is by doing."

Night fell across the Labyrinth, and when it did, a number of candelabras flamed to life, filling the library with a soft glow.

For the hundredth time, JJ approached Nobbiggo from a few paces back, sank into a low, graceful curtsey, and quietly articulated a greeting.

Nobbiggo beamed proudly, "Fantastic! You didn't even wobble that time!"  
JJ rose, grinning, "Great. So, I let Jareth parade me around for a bit, curtsey without falling over, keep my mouth shut unless spoken to, and the night goes off without a hitch."  
Nobbiggo smirked, "Not quite. That is just lesson one. Tomorrow, we'll continue with lesson two. Meet me here in the library, and we'll give you a course in dancing."

When JJ groaned, he added, "We can do it my way, JJ, or you can go back to reading archaic, boring, dust-ridden books."

JJ sighed, clasped her hands together, and bowed, "I surrender to your superior wisdom, Sensei."

Nobbiggo chuckled, "There's a good girl. Now, go down to the kitchens and get yourself something to eat."

She didn't need to be told twice. Planting a quick kiss on his furry head, she raced out of the library.

It took her a few tries to find the kitchens, and when she finally managed it, she discovered that she would not be dining alone: Jareth was perched on a sturdy wooden table, munching an apple and engrossed in a book. His loose-fitting black pants and shirt appeared to be made of cotton and suspiciously resembled pajamas, and his bare feet dangled an inch of the floor. Bare fingers turned a page, bringing JJ's attention to the fact that he was not wearing gloves for the first time since she'd seen him. In fact, the only thing that remained of his usual ensemble was the crescent medallion around his neck.

She cleared her throat, and when he looked up, she gave him a well-practiced curtsey, grinning.

Returning the grin, he set down the book, and bowed his head slightly to acknowledge her, "Well done. Perhaps this won't be such a disaster after all."

JJ shrugged and went to grab an apple of her own from a bowl on the table, "That I can't say. Nobbiggo's spent the last few hours teaching me how to shut up and smile pretty. We also went over the correct way to greet someone of a higher station than myself. For instance, the proper way to greet you would be to curtsey at a respectful distance, oh-so-meekly say, "Good Evening, Your Majesty," and not move until you acknowledged me."

Jareth smirked, "You forgot a bit, then."

JJ shrugged, "Nah. I figure you're in your PJ's, it must mean you've let your hair down."

The Goblin King chuckled, and replied, "Yes, you're not the only one who's had a… productive evening."

Taking a bite out of her apple, JJ motioned for him to elaborate, and he did with a sigh, "For starters, I went over preparations for the ball with my steward. And then we reviewed the guest list that my Father took upon himself to arrange," he sneered a little at that, "And then I made arrangements for you, as well."  
"Me?"  
"Yes. You see, JJ, I had intended on planning a ball of my own to introduce you formally to my Court. It would've been a few weeks from now, to give you time to adjust and prepare, and learn the way of things here. However, my Father is all too eager to marry me off to anyone who will take me and add prestige to the Court, for the simple reason that he cannot retire and leave the throne of _Tir Nan Og_, the High Court, until I am married, and able to take his place."

JJ frowned sympathetically, "That kind of sucks."  
He gave her a tired smile, "Indeed. Especially when many of the people he invited to this ball are my enemies, who would love to see me fail to take the throne."

"So basically, I should stay low, keep my nose clean, and do my best to be invisible?" JJ asked, taking another bite.

"On the contrary," Jareth answered, "While the guest of honor will be my potential fiancé, you will be the focus of everyone's attention, and my Secret Weapon."

She raised an eyebrow, "Secret weapon? That sounds a bit dramatic…"  
"Oh, it is," he grinned, "While everyone there will know that you are a Wished Away, and that you Ran the Labyrinth and lost, they won't know the details of the story. You will be an enigmatic figure to them, an exotic mystery. It takes a great deal of bravery to challenge the Labyrinth, and a great deal of skill to survive it."  
"But I had your help," JJ protested.

"Yes, but only you and I will know that. They will draw their own conclusions about your skills and prowess. They will see you as a potential threat, or a potential tool to use against me."  
"You're throwing me to the Sharks!!"  
"And that is precisely why we're teaching you how to swim."

JJ made an unhappy sound, and Jareth did his best to sound apologetic, "You'll be in no physical danger, I assure you. As desperate for power as some of them are, they wouldn't dare attack me or mine in my own castle. They'll merely try to seduce you to their causes, playing on your resentment of your failure to turn you against me."

JJ frowned, "But I don't resent you."

He patted her shoulder, "I'm glad to hear it. And you must show them that. You are a Runner of the Labyrinth; You fought your way through dangers untold to win your freedom, only to have it snatched away by the chime of a bell. You are brave, clever, strong of mind and body, mysterious, and loyal to the King who now serves as your guardian."

"… Yeah, you don't expect much from me at _all_, do you..."

He laughed, quietly, "I expect too much, I know. But for your own good, as well as mine, you must become what they will all expect you to be."

She shook her head, "I may be slow here, but humor me: Why exactly would your enemies want to get to me?"

"You have practically unfettered access to the castle. To me. Even now, we are alone in this room together, no guards, nothing to stop you if you wanted to harm me in some way."  
JJ snorted, "Except for the fact that you could glitter-poof off and leave me in some unpleasant hole to rot for the rest of my life…"  
"Yes, but someone clever enough to survive the Labyrinth would be able to work around that detail."

JJ shook her head in exasperation, "Then logically we would want your enemies to think that I'm just some dumb human that got lucky! Which is the truth, in any case…"

Jareth sighed, "No, dear. We want them to think that you _could_ be useful, but that you _won't_ be, of your own accord."

She stared at him blankly for a moment, before finishing off her apple and tossing the core into the rubbish bin, "You know, for a King, you really don't make a whole lot of sense."

"_Goblin_ King. Making sense is not one of my highest priorities."

They spent the rest of their time in the kitchen pleasantly, JJ procuring a slice of bread and some butter, and Jareth pouring two glasses of milk for them.

An avid bookworm, JJ was ecstatic to learn that the book he had been reading was Arthur Conan Doyle's _A Study In Scarlet,_ and they spent the better part of an hour discussing it together, before Jareth led her back to her room, stopping just outside of her door.

"I really must compliment you on how well you're taking all of this," he remarked, leaning against the doorframe and giving her his crooked grin.

JJ shrugged, "I just keep reminding myself it could be a lot worse. Besides, you have a totally Boss library."

Jareth's brow furrowed in confusion, "I beg your pardon, my dear, but… 'boss'?"

"Yeah. Boss. Awesome. Badical. For sheezy it's off the heezy."

The Goblin King shook his head and opened the door, shooing her inside, "Damn the twenty-first century for ruining a perfectly good language," he growled.

JJ smirked as she stepped into the bedroom, "Good night, Your Majesty."  
"Pleasant dreams, JJ."

_The observer's dark eyes glinted as a silken voice chuckled, "No, Goblin King, I'm afraid your newest pet will not be having pleasant dreams, tonight."_

_He watched as she went to the window seat, opening the window and sinking down onto the cushion, probably intending to gaze at the crystal moonlight glowing on the Labyrinth for a while, but with a few whispered words from him, she slid into unconsciousness._

"_Good girl," he murmured, cupping the crystal in his hands almost tenderly, "Now, dream for me, Precious. Show me what's in that fragile mind of yours…"_

* * *

_I know, this chapter was longer and more boring than usual, and I do apologize, but I promise it was necessary  
_


	11. Lessons Learned

_In which Lessons are Learned_

* * *

**Lessons Learned**

The pain was what woke her up; sharp spears of it piercing through her body and wringing a strangled cry from her throat as she opened her eyes.

She was lying at the bottom of an oubliette, her own blood pooling beneath her twisted frame. Hot tears slid down her face as she tried to move and found herself unable to even twitch.

And then he was there, standing over her and staring at her with a mixture of triumph and disgust, "Well. If it isn't you. The Challenger of the Labyrinth, broken and shattered."

He knelt beside her, a shaft of moonlight turning his wild hair into a halo, and gently stroked the side of her face with one finger, "What a pity, I neglected to bring all my horses and all my men to put you back together again."

She tried to speak, but her words only came out in a strained whimper, and he pressed the finger to her lips, "Hush now, pet. Die with dignity, I promise it's a better end than living in slavery."

JJ took a shallow, pained breath, and barely managed, "…how…?"

The Goblin King chuckled, "It never occurred to you that you never made it out of the first oubliette? That for the past twelve hours, you've been lying here, your life ebbing away… that my kindness was merely an illusion of your own damaged fantasy?"

He brushed a few strands of hair away from her eyes, his touch cruelly gentle, "You know what an oubliette is, don't you, my dear? It's a place to put people to forget about them."

She coughed, staining her lips with blood, crying out quietly as her lungs burned, and the Goblin King smirked, "You pitiful thing. I suppose I should put you out of your misery… that's what a good King would do," he gripped her throat, slowly crushing her fragile trachea, stifling her pained gasps and causing her vision to darken, "And I am a good king, aren't I, my dear?"

He pressed his mouth against hers, his fingers strangling the life from her. Slowly, the pain faded, replaced with numb cold, and the last thing she saw before her vision faded completely was his blood-stained grin as he leaned back, and murmured, "_Such_ a pity."

Suddenly, she could breath again, and she screamed, striking out with her fists, the blows making contact with the dark figure kneeling over her.

Her wrists were grabbed in a vice-like grip, and the voice of the Goblin King sounded desperate as he half-yelled, "July, calm _down!_"

She jerked away from him, and ended up on the floor. Suddenly, a few candles flared to life, and JJ saw Jareth kneeling on the window seat, staring down at her with concern. He was still in his pajamas, and his face was haggard, his entire appearance disheveled. More importantly, there was no trace of blood on his lips.

JJ stared at him for a long moment, before quietly asking, "Did… did I wake you?"

He snorted and pulled her up onto the window seat, pressing one hand to the side of her face, "That would be putting it lightly, I'm afraid."

"Was I screaming?"

"No, but the Labyrinth was. What happened?"

He kept his hand against her face; her skin tingled where it made contact, and she had to resist the urge to flinch away as she told him the details of the dream.

When she got to the point of him strangling her, he looked down right angry, and JJ did pull away when he swore violently.

He apologized, and put his hand against her face again, "That wasn't an ordinary nightmare, someone sent it to you."  
"Why? I haven't been here long enough to piss anyone off!" she protested.

With a shrug, he answered, "I don't know. However, I can promise you that I will do everything within my power to find them and stop this. By attacking you, they attacked the Labyrinth."

He lifted his hand away, and her skin still tingled, and she almost felt a pressure behind her eyes.

"What did you just do?" she queried, rubbing her head and looking at him worriedly.

"Nothing permanent or harmful. I merely ensured that you would not suffer any more nightmares. Unfortunately, you will not have any pleasant dreams, either, but it's only temporary."

He helped her up, and led her over to the bed, covering her with a blanket when she sank down onto the mattress, and she quietly thanked him.

He patted her on the shoulder, and started for the door, but she called after him, "Jareth, you said the Labyrinth was screaming…?"  
"Yes. Your nightmare was harming it. Not enough to weaken it, fortunately. In fact, it seemed more upset by the fact that you were being attacked," He smirked, "I think it likes you."

JJ glanced out of the window at the maze, "It… likes me."  
"Not very many people choose to run the Labyrinth, and no Wished Away before you has ever challenged it for their own freedom. You're a bit of a novelty. The Labyrinth will protect you because you are a Wished Away, and it has a level of respect for you because you refused to give up quietly."

"How do you know how it feels?"  
He gave a quiet chuckle and ordered, "Go to sleep, Precious. You have a busy day tomorrow."

***

The sunlight warmed her face, drawing her gently into consciousness. She opened her eyes and sat up, stretching and yawning.

"Morning, sleepy-head," Elise's cheerful voice rang like a bell, "Dressed, breakfasted, and then straight to the library with you! You've got a lot of work ahead of you!"

JJ rolled out of bed and grumbled her way over to the closet, "Are you _always _this cheerful in the morning?"  
The maid grinned at her, "Oh yes. Especially when the King reassigns me to light duties. He wants me to focus solely on getting you ready for the ball."  
"How generous of him," the redhead muttered, selecting a light blue dress and a white sash. She took a quick bath, slipped into the dress, braided her still-damp hair, and followed Elise down to the kitchen.

Unlike the previous night, the kitchen was bustling with activity, and instead of getting in the way trying to rustle up some breakfast, Elise asked one of the kitchen maids, a young Elvin-faced girl with spiky orange hair to assist them.

She brought JJ a muffin and a mug of apple juice, and Elise ushered JJ in the direction of the library, instructing, "Now eat that fast, I don't want to clean crumbs off of the books."

JJ did as instructed, and managed to finish the last bite and drain the apple juice by the time they reached the library.

Elise pushed her once more in the direction of the desk and immediately began gathering some more dusty old tomes, but JJ put her foot down, "Elise… instead of focusing on a bunch of boring facts, why don't we actually go over the stuff I absolutely have to know before the ball?"

Elise paused, "… alright, I'm listening. What could you need to know that can't be learned in a book?"

"For starters," JJ answered, "Political intrigue. Jareth seemed certain that some unsavory characters would be quite interested in me. How to I fob them off without causing trouble?"

Realization dawned on Elise's face and she grinned, "I guess that is something more important than which fork to use… alright then. We'll start on the polite way to tell a Nobleman to buzz off."

They spent the morning and a better part of the afternoon practicing diplomacy and charm until Elise was confidant that JJ was not going to cause a scene.

"The only thing you have to remember is to keep that sarcastic tongue of yours in check," Elise admonished, "Grace and dignity should be your weapons of choice."

JJ grinned a little guiltily, "I know. No snarking off. Gotcha."  
A new voice from the doorway indicated that Nobbiggo had joined them, "Oh, you can snark off all you like, but only if they deserve it, and only if you word it prettily. You ready for our lesson?"

Elise looked curious, "What lesson would that be, Master Nobbiggo?"  
"Dance," he replied with a grin, "She'll be expected to dance with the King at least once, and she'll leave a better impression upon the Court if she doesn't trip all over his feet. Now, Miss Elise, if you could help me demonstrate a simple waltz?"

Elise agreed, and JJ stepped back and watched as Nobbiggo bowed, and Elise curtsied. She was familiar with the basic steps of the waltz, but Elise showed skill that could only come from years of practice, and Nobbiggo proved to be a master at it, compensating for the major height difference between the three-foot tall goblin and his partner.

They finished, and Nobbiggo applauded, "Very nicely done, Miss Elise. Now, JJ, it's your turn."

JJ grimaced, but obediently went to Nobbiggo, and curtsied.

She tried to mimic Elise's grace and prowess, but she turned wrong and her bad ankle gave an unexpected jab of pain.

She stumbled, and landed on her rear on the floor, swearing indignantly. Elise snickered and helped her to her feet, and Nobbiggo said, "If at first you don't succeed..."

They tried again, and again, JJ stumbled. They continued for most of an hour, and finally Nobbiggo allowed her to stop when she accidentally stepped on his tail.

JJ flopped down into a chair, growling, "It's useless."

Elise patted her on the shoulder, "Take a break, you two. I'll pop down to the kitchen and bring us back a late lunch, how does that sound?"  
"Perfect, actually," Nobbiggo answered, "I'll help you. JJ, why don't you explore the library for a bit until we get back?"  
They left JJ alone, and she did her best not to sulk. The books called out to her temptingly, but instead of exploring, she stood, and tried retracing the steps of the waltz.

She closed her eyes, raised one hand as if grasping a shoulder, the other stretched slightly to the side, and began dancing with her invisible partner.

She stumbled over her own feet once or twice, but kept going, turning and stepping as lightly as possible, thankful that the size of the library gave her ample space to do this without running into any furniture.

Suddenly, leather-encased fingers grasped hers, while her other hand found a warm shoulder beneath it. A firm but gentle hand was placed on her waist, guiding her through the steps with ease.

Startled, she opened her eyes, and promptly tripped, but her unexpected partner kept his grip on her, his mismatched eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Reliving our first dance, Precious?" he questioned, and JJ glared at him, but kept dancing.

"For your information," she said, loftily, "I'm learning how to dance _properly_."

He chuckled, "So I see. Would you like some assistance whilst your tutor is away?"

She raised an eyebrow questioningly, so he continued, "First rule, then: Relax."  
"I am relaxed."  
"No, you are not. You're as rigid as a board, and you're gripping my shoulder far too tightly. Allow your hand to rest lightly on the shoulder of your partner, and don't step so stiffly. _Flow _into the movement of your partner, allow him to guide you. A dance is like a relationship, in that it requires trust and communication."  
JJ did her best to obey, relaxing her grip on his shoulder and relaxing her posture, "How so?"  
He grinned, and dipped her suddenly, as he had in the cherry-tree clearing, and she yelped and gripped his shoulder once more, her fingers digging into the fabric of his poet's shirt.

He laughed openly, "_This _is precisely what I mean. Relax, I won't drop you. Hand on the shoulder lightly, and don't look so terrified."

She complied, reluctantly, and once she did, he brought her upright again. She scrabbled to regain her footing on her own, and he scolded, "_Trust."_

She glared, and he danced her slowly around the room, admonishing her when she looked down at their feet, "Eye contact is essential in any form of communication, JJ. You meet your partner's gaze and do not shy away. He should have your full attention just as you should have his."  
She glared once more, and he laughed outright, "But perhaps not so defiantly. Just enjoy yourself, and trust me to lead you safely."

They continued for another moment before he dipped her again, and this time, she did not panic or fight for her own footing.

He brought her back up immediately, "Perfect!" he praised, and she blushed and grinned.

As they finished, he released her waist but kept her hand, bowing at the waist. JJ took the cue and curtsied deeply, and perfectly.

Nobbiggo and Elise could be heard in the corridor, and JJ stood, facing the door, a self-satisfied grin on her face.

Jareth's hands were suddenly on her shoulders, as he leaned in from behind to murmur against her ear, "Remember, Precious: _Trust_."  
By the time she turned to acknowledge his reminder, he was gone.

* * *

_I hate to beg, but that doesn't mean I won't. Review, please!!!_


	12. Hide your Face

_In which my BFF's character Tonisha cameos, Jareth has family issues, and Important Shit Happens so Pay Attention_

_

* * *

_**Hide your face so the world will never Find you**_  
_

The remaining time flew by quickly with dreamless nights and practice-filled days. After the dance lesson, JJ saw nothing of Jareth, and could only assume that he was occupied with preparing for the Ball.

Elise proved to be an invaluable companion, ensuring that JJ became well-versed in the basics of Court Etiquette, and providing a dance partner closer in height than Nobbiggo, though the Goblin made sure he was there to critique her rehearsal.

The fateful night, JJ watched in amazement as the Labyrinth opened up to receive the guests and their carriages.

"I don't understand," she said, as Elise fastened the back of her new gown, "Why don't they just glitter-poof in like His Nibs does?"

"First off, it's rude to teleport into someone else's domain. Secondly, the Labyrinth's defenses prevent anyone except its King from teleporting in or out. Thirdly, if you teleport, how can you show off your carriage? It's a symbol of status."

"Oh, so it's a "My horse is bigger than your horse" sort of thing?"  
Elise giggled, "Exactly."

JJ smirked and then went to check her appearance. Elise had teased her curls into a loose up-do that allowed a few locks to frame her face, and the one rebellious curl that always fell to the middle of her forehead ,despite her best efforts, looked rather fetching instead of just unruly as it normally did.

Dark eyeshadow brought out the brilliant green of her eyes, while light pink gloss accented her lips.

The gown was quite unlike the spun-sugar thing that JJ had first worn. Its silhouette was slimmer, with off-the-shoulder capped sleeves that flowed smoothly into a v-shaped neckline, and the dark burgundy silk and organza was embroidered with black thread. The skirt was gathered, each drape accented with a small black rose that matched the black opera gloves covering her arms.

She swished the skirt experimentally, and asked with some disconcertion, "How do I sit down in this thing?"  
Elise snickered, "I wouldn't recommend it."

Jareth met her outside of her room, and appraised her with a smile, "You look lovely, my dear. However, just one thing…" he held out his hand and revealed the owl-shaped hairclip.

He pinned it in her hair and nodded approvingly, before offering his arm to her. As the walked, he whispered conspiratorially, "Technically, we should be greeting the guests. However, since this is your introduction to the Court, I think we can get away with making an entrance."

"You're making me nervous, your majesty."

He chuckled, "Don't be. People will be expecting some sort of scandal, and I hate to disappoint them. Besides, I want to remind my father that, even though he arranged this fiasco, it's still _my_ castle. Now, stay on my arm until we reach the bottom of the staircase. After that, I'll be forced to mingle, and be introduced properly to this girl that my father wants me to marry, and you'll be on your own, but don't worry: Some of my dearest friends will be in there, and they've promised to keep an eye on you."

She nodded, and took a deep breath as they reached a pair of large double doors. She could hear music playing faintly from the other side, as well as people laughing and conversing.

"Remember," the Goblin King added, "You're a mystery. You're cleverness and bravery wrapped in enigma and prowess."

JJ snorted, "Oh yeah. Just call me Billy Badass, would-be Conqueror of the Labyrinth."

He chuckled, and motioned for the guards to open the doors.

They were announced, and JJ had to resist the urge to raise an eyebrow as she was referred to as 'Lady' July.

Jareth led her down the stairs, the picture of arrogance and power, and JJ found herself wondering how he so easily switched from being a friend to being her lord and master.

At the foot of the stairs waited a rather imposing man, with dark salt-and-pepper hair and a neatly trimmed beard. Although his style was more conservative than Jareth's, JJ recognized the same flair, and the same haughty expression.

When they reached him, Jareth bowed and confirmed her forming suspicions, "Father, I bid you welcome to the Goblin Court."  
JJ sank into a curtsey, bowing her head respectfully. The High King's rich voice greeted his son warmly, and enquired, "And who is this charming young human?"

"Father, this is July Jones, a Wished Away and the latest mortal to run the Labyrinth. July, this is my father, Auberon, High Ruler of the Fae and King of _Tir Nan Og_."

"Your Majesty," JJ murmured, "It is an honor."  
Auberon chuckled and congratulated his son, "She seems well-mannered, Jareth. I'm sure she'll make quite the pleasant addition to the Court. Forgive me, dear lady, but I'm afraid I must steal your King away for now."  
He flashed her a grin, and led the Goblin King into the waiting crowd of dancers.

In spite of Jareth's reminder, JJ decided to use this opportunity to find a nice corner and practice being invisible.

She spied one near an ornate pillar, and made her way towards it, avoiding the party-goers with ease, as they all seemed to be focused on the High King and his son.

She made it to the pillar and rested against its cool marble surface, snagging a goblet off of a nearby table.

Behind the pillar, she found Elise, who seemed to be busying herself with arranging the refreshments on the table.

"Elise, I thought you were upstairs…"  
"I took a short cut after you and His Nibs left. I'll give you a tour of the short cuts tomorrow, but for now, I want to enjoy the party."

Something across the room caught her eye and she gave a little sigh. JJ followed her gaze, and saw, beyond the shifting dancers, one of the many guards around the ball room.

He was tall, and quite handsome, and looked human for the most part, except for the odd shape of his golden eyes, which appeared rather feline.

JJ gave a quiet, appreciative whistle, and asked, "The cutie in the uniform?"  
Another dreamy sigh, "Phillip. Captain of His Majesty's Guard. He's a half-ling like me, his mother mortal and his father a Fae. Jareth likes to keep us around, when no one else wants us."

JJ frowned, "Wants you? Why not?"  
"We can't do magic very well. Hardly at all, actually. And our blood is 'tainted' with the iron in human blood, so we can't have children. So we're useless to the Fae, and humans usually end up fearing us when it's obvious that we're not like them."  
JJ's frown deepened, "That sucks. But he gives you a place to live and work?"  
Elise nodded, "They call him the Protector of the Lost for that reason, in part. We're like too many of the Wished Aways… not wanted. So he takes us and gives us a place."

"Does he know about you and Mr. Captain-of-the-Guard over there?"

"There is no Me and Mr. Captain-of-the-Guard," Elise lamented, "I haven't had the courage to speak more than two words to him."

JJ patted her shoulder sympathetically, "Being boy-shy is a universal concept, I guess. Especially when the boy in question is that cute."  
Elise blushed and giggled, "He and Jareth perform their exercises together in the morning. Sometimes I sneak down to the courtyard and watch them fence."

JJ snickered and sipped her drink, "I bet. I'll want to hear full detailed reports of those exercises then, Elise."  
"Oh, of course," the maid chuckled, "Well, I'd better nip off and make sure the Goblins are behaving themselves. The last thing we need is another Chicken Rebellion."

She winked at JJ and disappeared behind a tapestry.

JJ turned back to watch the dancers, and nearly ran when she saw one of the noblemen approach her.

He eyed her appreciatively in a manner that made JJ want to throw her goblet at him, and he bowed, lazily, "Good evening, Human," he said, smirking conceitedly, "Dance with me."

JJ bit back her automatic snark, and instead curtsied slightly, "No, thank you, my lord. I promised my first dance to my King."  
She smiled prettily, hoping he would buy the lie, but he persisted, "I assure you, he's far too busy with his latest acquisition, I'm certain he's paying you absolutely no mind."  
A rich feminine voice purred from somewhere behind JJ, "You know, that's the problem with you Fae boys, you really don't know how to react when someone tells you 'no'."

JJ turned to find a tall woman with spiky dark hair and a feral grin on her face.

The nobleman bowed, begrudgingly, "Your Majesty," and obeyed with a growl when the woman made a shooing motion with her fingers.

"Thanks," JJ said, quietly, to which the woman shrugged, "These spoiled Fae brats are irritating on their best behavior. Worse when they think they can take advantage. I'm Tonisha, by the way."  
JJ curtsied yet again, "A pleasure, my lady. I'm--"  
"JJ, I know. You should hear some of the rumors that have been flying about you."  
JJ blushed and frowned, "Rumors are hardly fact, my lady--"  
"They are when they come from the Labyrinth itself."  
JJ's eyes widened slightly, "What do you-- you can talk to the Labyrinth?"

A man with long black hair and dark blue eyes suddenly appeared beside Tonisha, grinning like a Cheshire cat, "No, but she associates with someone who can. Hello, Toni."  
Tonisha purred, "Lucian, I didn't know you were on the guest list."  
"I'm not," he chuckled, leaning down and placing a kiss on her cheek. JJ noticed with some surprise that his kiss left a faint pattern of frost on the woman's skin, which she brushed away with a knowing grin, "Of course, and that's the only reason you came."

The man, Lucian, smirked a very familiar smirk as he answered, "Not the _only_ reason, love."

He took JJ's hand and pressed a frosty kiss to her fingers, and JJ gasped as his touch left her skin numbingly cold.

"Lady July, allow me to introduce myself: I am the Shadowlord, ruler of the Ever-Winter Realm of Elleslap, and bastard younger brother to he Goblin King."  
JJ openly stared, "You… you're his brother?"

"_Bastard _brother," he corrected, as if taking particular delight in the word, "We have the same mother. It's a horribly long and complicated and boring tale, so I shall not burden you with the details."  
"Thank you, dear," Tonisha said, studying her deep purple nails with feigned interest.

The Shadowlord ignored her, "I must also point out my lack of patience with titles and formality, and insist that you call me Lucian."

"If you're done flirting, Darling," Tonisha purred, "Perhaps you could explain to the poor child why we're here?"  
JJ hazarded a guess, "Jareth said he'd asked someone to keep an eye on me."  
Lucian grinned, "Exactly. He seemed to be under the silly impression that I would be the only male in the room who wouldn't try to steal you away from him."  
Tonisha smirked, "That's because he knows _me_, Darling," she turned to JJ, her tone becoming slightly more serious, "Auberon will not be pleased if he knew we were here, so our presence here will be subtle, but rest assured, you are in good hands."

She took Lucian's hand, and together they melted into the shadows. JJ rubbed at her own hand, feeling the cold spot where his lips had touched her skin. It tingled a bit unpleasantly, and refused to warm up, no matter how she rubbed at it.

Jareth's warm voice against her ear startled her as he murmured, "My father would have a fit if he had seen that."  
JJ turned to face him, "I didn't know you had a brother."  
"Of course you didn't," He answered, taking her arm gently and leading her towards the dance floor, "I also have a sister of the same… lineage, as Lucian. You've met her already, if I'm not mistaken."  
She frowned as he began guiding her into a waltz, "I have?"  
"Yes. The Librarian. She and Lucian are twins." He dipped her, and this time she did not balk, allowing him to bring her back up and smoothly regaining her feet.

"My father banished them both when he realized that they were not his. They were both quite young, but Lucian was very headstrong and independent. The Realm he resides over now was the unknown territory he was banished to. It is wild and dangerous, and it suits him perfectly. Almathea, however, has always been more fragile and innocent than either of us. Without my knowledge, the Labyrinth intervened in my father's banishment, and brought Almathea here. Although her magic is weak, she's a powerful oracle, and she's developed a bond with the Labyrinth over the years. Her Library, the one that you stumbled into in the catacombs, is her haven. She records the history of the Underground, and brings a softer touch to the harshness of the Labyrinth."

JJ was about to question him further, when suddenly their dance was interrupted by a man asking to cut in.

He was tall, his hair a darker blonde than Jareth's, and much more tame, having been pulled back into a pony tail. His chocolate brown eyes met JJ's green and she noticed a pale scar over the left.

Jareth's mouth twitched downwards ever so slightly, but he smiled and gave her over to him without protest.

The newcomer gave her a smile, the kind that seemed tailor-made to melt female hearts, and his smooth voice spoke, "Enjoying the party, My Lady?

JJ tried to ignore the girlish fluttering in her stomach, "Well… yes, I suppose I am."

The man's tone became sympathetic, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked such an impertinent question… How can you enjoy something when it means the loss of your freedom?"

"Actually," JJ answered, "I've sort of made my peace with that… King Jareth has been most gracious in his treatment of me."

"Forgive my rudeness, my Lady. It just pains me to see such a beautiful creature locked in a cage… no matter how golden the bars may be."

His intent gaze suddenly went from heart-melting to unnerving, and JJ nearly stumbled for the first time that evening, her entire frame going rigid despite her attempts to remain relaxed.

"I'm sorry, I never caught your name," she said, suddenly aware of Jareth standing a distance away with a group of courtiers, his gaze never straying from the man with whom she was dancing.

The man in question laughed, and in spite of her discomfort, JJ had to admit that it was a rather nice laugh.

"Again, my apologies… I was so busy sticking my nose where it's not wanted, I forgot my manners. I am Nathair, Lord Nathair."

The dance ended, and JJ curtsied while Nathair bowed over her hand, kissing the exact spot that Lucian had shortly before. The cold immediately fled, and although it still tingled, it became pleasant, and JJ wondered if he knew.

Had her back not been turned, she would've seen Jareth's stony countenance slip ever so slightly in favor of glaring at Lord Nathair, as his half-brother whispered something in his ear.


	13. True is false, Who is Who

_In which Approving Brothers are a Pain._

_

* * *

_

**True is False, Who is Who**

Lord Nathair glanced over his shoulder and then turned a grin to JJ, "I think your King is displeased by my attentions."  
JJ turned and found Jareth watching them, his face a mask of indifference but his eyes glinting dangerously.

"I can't imagine why," she replied, turning back to Nathair, "He didn't say I shouldn't dance with anyone else…"  
"I'm afraid Jareth and I don't get along," Nathair explained, a little guiltily, "We were bitter rivals as children, and it seems he has yet to let the past be the past."  
"You knew him as a child?" JJ asked.

"Yes, we're cousins. King Auberon is my uncle. Enough about me, however… I'm curious to know about you. You grew up Aboveground?"

"Yeah, in New Jersey."

"However did you manage to get yourself wished away?"

JJ told him the story, and he laughed, "Oh dear. Young Jeremy sounds like quite the handful."  
"No more than any other six year old. He's a good kid, and I don't think it occurred to him that the goblins would keep me when he wished me away. I just hope it didn't upset him too much."  
"And what about you? You seem remarkably well adjusted to your new place in life."

JJ hesitated, but Nathair smiled encouragingly, so she told him, "I didn't really have much to lose. My mother died several years ago in an accident, and my already strained relationship with my father fell completely apart. I have a few friends, but none close. No boyfriend, no pets, a job that I didn't like…"

"Then why did you bother running?"  
"I'm not the type to give up without a fight," she said simply.

Nathair studied her in silence, and she fought the urge to squirm beneath his gaze. Suddenly, his focus seemed to shift, and he asked, "Lady July, I should very much like see you again. Do I have your permission to call on you?"

JJ blinked, unsure if she should take him seriously. Deciding to play it safe, she stammered, "Uh…you'll have to ask the King, it's… well--"

He clasped her hand, gently, and raised it to his lips, "I'm not asking to see _him_, my lady. I'm asking _you_."

JJ blushed, and stammered some more, before managing a "Yes". Just as she did, her arm was grasped, and she was pulled away from the Fae Lord by a smirking Tonisha, who warned, "Careful, Human. Fae men have a tendency to break mortal hearts."  
JJ glared at her, "My heart is just fine, thank you very much. He was just being friendly--"  
The otherworldly woman raised an eyebrow at her and tsked disbelievingly, "Who knew such naiveté lay behind those sharp eyes of yours."

While JJ protested being called naïve, Tonisha led her to JJ and handed her over.

Jareth took JJ by the arm and looked questioningly at Tonisha, who grinned, "You should be careful who you lend your toys to, Jareth. You might not get them back."  
JJ visibly bristled at being called a 'toy', but Jareth squeezed her arm lightly, and she bit her tongue.

Tonisha noticed the exchange and smirked, "I must return to my own kingdom now, but Lucian will still be hanging about, should either of you need a chaperone."

The woman grinned and stepped backwards into the shadows of a pillar, melding into them and disappearing as she had before.

JJ noticed that, whether by design or accident, the last thing to disappear was the woman's grin.

As if sensing the question before she even thought to ask it, Jareth explained, "She's the Queen of Shadows, and she lives by her own set of rules. That makes many members of the Court uneasy."  
"But not you?"  
He smiled wryly, "We've been friends since before I developed a sense of Better Judgment. And she saved my brother," he paused as a woman approached, and added "But that is a story for another time. Lady July, may I present Princess Lisan of the Western Forests."

JJ curtsied deeply, and tried not to stare at the woman enviously.

She was just a bit taller than JJ, thin and inhumanly graceful. Her pale blond hair was bound into a braid that reached her knees, and her large blue eyes studied JJ with the same curiosity that scientists studied animals in a cage.

"So this is the human pet I've heard so much about?" she said, her voice musical and delicate, in spite of the superior tone.

Jareth gave her a tight smile, "No, your highness. This is the Runner, and the newest member of my Court, as well as a future Lady-in-Waiting to whoever I choose to be Queen."

JJ hid a smirk as Lisan's eyes widened and a muscle in her jaw twitched, before her personality turned a one-eighty.

"My apologies," she said, suddenly clasping JJ's hand and pulling her closer, a sickeningly sweet smile curving her mouth, "So often humans are dull-witted and uninteresting, I tend to judge them on past experience. However, if dear Jareth thinks you're fit to be a Lady-in-Waiting, then I am not by any means fit to contradict him."  
Lisan batted her eyelashes at Jareth, and JJ could've sworn he fought the urge to roll his eyes, opting instead to smile patiently.

Lisan continued, "Dearest, do you mind if I steal Jareth away from you? Of course you don't. Why don't you go enjoy yourself, hmm?"

Without waiting for a response, the Princess latched on to the king's arm and pulled him towards the dance floor.

JJ shook her head and went to reclaim her quiet corner. She found Lucian there, casually juggling a frost-covered crystal, much the same way that she'd seen Jareth do.

Nodding at the crystal, she asked, "Can all Fae do that?"

"No," the Shadowlord responded, flipping the orb over his fingers, "Only those of Royal blood."  
"Can all creatures here do magic?"

He nodded, "Yes. Even humans, after some time, though not nearly as well as magical races, or even half-lings."

"So what's the difference between a Fae and an Elf?"  
"Culture, mostly. Some differences in appearance, as well. We all have pointed ears, but Elves' eyebrows turn downwards, like a human's, and they also tend to be more delicate in appearance."  
JJ glanced over her shoulder, "Lisan's an Elf, then?"

Lucian growled, "Yes. Only an Elf could be that irritating."

JJ snickered, and leaned beside him against the pillar, "You know her?"  
"She's completely _wrong_ for him," Lucian sounded exasperated, "But his father is forcing the issue of his marriage, and Jareth's past the point of caring. He'd marry a _broom_ if Auberon told him to!"  
"That's a bit unfair, isn't it?"

The Shadowlord sighed, "I suppose. I'd just prefer to see him marry someone he at least _likes_. Like--"

He stopped with a guilty look, and JJ prodded, "Like…?"

The murmured name was almost too low to hear, "Lady Sarah."  
JJ's brow furrowed, "Lady… Oh, Nobbiggo mentioned her. And then he said that no one talks about her. Why is that?"  
Lucian sighed, "Because when she won, Jareth offered his heart to her, and she rejected him without so much as batting an eyelash. And then, when she grew up, she forgot the Labyrinth entirely. She stopped dreaming of our fantastic world, and she soon believed that none of this ever existed. She abandoned her friends and her imagination in favor of 'reality'."

JJ pondered this new bit of information, and Lucian turned the crystal in his hand, flipping it into his palm, where it became a small, red leather-bound book. Without a word, he handed it to JJ, motioning for her to tuck it in the sash of her gown out of sight.

Obviously desiring a change of topic, he asked, "What did you think of Nathair?"

JJ blushed, though she wasn't sure why, "He was… nice. Charming. Why?"  
"You'll be seeing quite a bit of him, methinks. He, Auberon, and Lisan will be spending the week here at the Castle Beyond the Goblin City."  
"So she's really set on marrying Jareth, then?"  
"Of course. Jareth is heir to the High Throne. When Auberon retires, he'll be the most powerful being in the Underground."

"Why did he seem to disapprove when Nathair asked me to dance?"

Lucian smirked, "You saw the scar over Nathair's left eye? Jareth gave him that scar when they were children. It was quite the battle from what I heard tell, though no one seems to know what started it. They've been bitter enemies ever since."

"Is it something that I should be concerned about?"  
He shook his head, "No. I'm willing to overlook any minor faults that he has simply because he's so very good at ruffling Jareth's hackles, and I doubt Jareth would be petty enough to keep you from him out of spite."

JJ blushed again, "Keep me from him--? I have no idea what you're talking about."

Lucian smirked, and slung an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close and murmuring breathily in her ear, "Oh, Lady July… if it please thee, may I have thy permission to call upon thee?"  
JJ glared at him, "He didn't say it like that--"  
"What light through yonder window breaks--"

"Shut up."

He snickered, and whispered, "I can see you're going to be _loads _of fun to tease."

JJ's glare darkened, "Are you always this forward with women you've only just met?"  
"Always," he confirmed, "But the time has come for me to resume my post as the hidden observer. Auberon seems to be coming this way, and I'd rather not start _that_ much of a commotion. Should you need any sort of assistance, just say my name. All right?"

JJ eyed him uneasily, but nodded. He grinned impertinently, planted a frosty kiss on her cheek, and disappeared.

JJ noted with some curiosity that a few flakes of snow hovered where he'd been before falling to the floor and melting.

***

Hours passed before she was able to escape the ball room. Elise was in her bedroom, waiting for her, and she helped her out of the silk and organza and into a much more comfortable cotton nightgown. Unfastening the owl clip from her hair, she paused a second to admire it, before setting it on the vanity table, where its crystal eyes glinted, almost as if it were winking.

JJ immediately crumpled onto the bed, stretching her toes and grimacing at the soreness that hours of dancing brought on.

Elise flopped down on the bed beside her, grinning, "So, rumor has it that you danced with Lord Nathair."  
"I danced with a lot of people, Elise."  
"Mhmm."

For the third time, JJ found herself blushing at the mention of the Fae lord, "He was polite, Elise. Nothing more. We had a nice conversation, and then he continued on."  
"Yes, unlike the dozens of men that seemed more interested in treating you like some shiny new bauble. Admit it, the only other person who treated you half as well was Jareth."  
"And Lucian."  
Elise's eyes widened comically, "The Shadowlord was there!?"  
"You know him?"  
"Of course! After Auberon banished him from _Tir Nan Og_, he ran across the bad side of a witch, and she turned his heart to ice!"  
Understanding dawned, and JJ asked, "Is that why he's so cold?"  
Elise nodded, "They say after his heart was turned to ice, he became selfish and uncaring, as frozen, as harsh, and as cruel as the land he reigns over. But then the Queen of Shadows met him. She intrigued him, and soon he began courting her, and then he realized that he'd fallen in love with her. When she admitted that she loved him in return, his heart started beating again."  
"Wow," JJ said, "That's--"  
"Incredibly romantic…" Elise gave a dreamy sigh, and JJ chuckled.

"Hopefully it won't take a witch's curse to get you together with that handsome Captain of the Guard," she teased, poking the maid in the stomach lightly..

The talked long into the night, their conversation turning from the ball, to getting to know each other, and after Elise had finally left the exhausted young woman to get some sleep, JJ realized quite happily that, if nothing else good ever came from her entire experience, she had at least found a friend.

*******

She awoke struggling and screaming from another nightmare, one in which a barn owl's claws raked at her heart while masked faces laughed at the blood soaking her dress.

She was immediately soothed by a cool touch and a gentle voice, and she lay back with a quiet groan. Jareth was seated on the bed beside her, pressing a naked hand to her forehead and whispering words in a language she did not understand.

When he realized she was awake, he sighed, "I neglected to ensure that your sleep was guarded from dreams, JJ. I'm terribly sorry."

The magic he had worked on her to calm her down was already dragging her back into sleep, but she managed a slurred, "S'alright, you're a busy guy. Great party, by the way…"

He smoothed her hair away from her face, before replacing his glove, "Thank the gods it's over. You were magnificent."  
She gave him a sleepy smile, "Of course I was. I had some pretty awesome teachers."  
He returned the smile, and murmured, "Rest now, Precious. You've earned it."

He gave her a kiss on the forehead that reinforced the sleeping spell, and she was dead to the world before the tender act had even registered.

From the door way, the Shadowlord smirked, his dark blue eyes reflecting the moonlight in the same manner as a wild animal.

"She's such a sweetheart when she's only half-conscious," he whispered, "You should put her in that state more often."

Jareth pointedly ignored that remark as he replaced his gloves, "How was she after I left her that last time?"  
"As you said: magnificent. She danced and smiled and made polite conversation, and held her tongue even when that stuffy old Lord Fenric told her to bring him his wine."

Jareth looked horrified, "Oh no… she didn't actually bring it to him, did she?"  
Lucian chuckled, "She didn't swallow _that_ much of her pride. She found one of the servants and asked him to do it."  
Jareth's lip curled, "And… Nathair?"

Lucian's smile disappeared, "Far too interested, I'm afraid. He asked to see her again."  
"And what did she say?"  
"She told him to ask you first, but that she'd see him."  
"Hmm. Well, keep me posted."

Lucian sighed, "Brother, has it occurred to you that Nathair is only interested because she's a lovely young woman who doesn't prance around like a show pony?"

Jareth grudgingly admitted, "The possibility has crossed my mind… but I will not take any chances. Not after what Amalthea told me."

Together, they left the room, Lucian grinning teasingly, "And of course, _your_ interest is purely as her monarch?"

"Don't start, Lucian."

The Shadowlord did his best to look innocent, "Don't start what, brother?"

"_This."_  
"She's pretty."

"Lucian."  
"And smart."

"I mean it."

"And she seems to put up with you well enough… She's not Royalty, true, but you've never been bound to such pesky little things like customs and rules."

The Goblin King glared at his brother for a moment, before softening, and answering quietly, "She's not Sarah."

He went to an open window and jumped out of it, transforming into a barn owl as he fell, and taking flight.

Lucian watched him disappear, muttering under his breath, "Crazy bastard."

* * *

_Hm. What did Amalthea say to make Jareth concerned for JJ's well being? And look! I mentioned Sarah! See? See?! _

_Every time you do not review, a Tamagotchi pet dies._


	14. Complications

_In which, things get complicated..._

_

* * *

_**Complications**_  
_

JJ woke up before the sun, with no memory of the nightmare, though she knew she'd had one, and she whispered a thanks to the Goblin King. Jareth's magic still dragged at her, but her mind was far too awake now to succumb to the enchanted sleep, and she sat up and stretched.

A flash of red caught her eye, and she saw the book that Lucian had given her, perched innocently on the nightstand.

Curiosity chased away the last inclinations to sleep, and she grabbed the book. As if sensing her intentions, a candlestick on the nightstand flared to life, and without really knowing why, JJ thanked it, which caused it to flare even brighter.

Gold lettering proclaimed the title, and JJ smirked a little, "_Labyrinth. _All right then, tell me your story."

It was a short tale, beginning with _Once upon a time_, and ending with _Happily Ever After_.

JJ smiled when she came across familiar names and places, and in a fictional sense, the story was a nice little read, but knowing the reality made the ending taste bitter and dry.

She realized that the teenaged Sarah had no understanding of the Goblin King, painting him as the villain and not realizing when he had offered her his all.

A soft rustling at her window made her look up to find the Barn Owl perched on her sill, the first pinks and yellows of the rising sun outlining his feathers and making him almost glow.

She smiled, and went to the window seat, unlatching the pane and allowing the owl into the room.

"Hey you," she murmured, reaching out one hand to gently stroke his feathers, "Still stalking me, huh?"

The owl cocked his head to one side and blinked at her innocently, and she chuckled, "I guess you're cute enough for me not to mind."

He made a soft cooing sound, and stretched, turning his head at an odd angle to look at the book. JJ obliged him, holding it upright for him to see it, "Not exactly _War and Peace_, but it's good."  
The Owl's feathers fluffed indignantly, and JJ set the book down with a laugh, "All right, all right, so owls have particular tastes in reading material, forget I said anything."

She went to her closet and began browsing through the dresses, and the Owl came and perched on her shoulder.

When her questing hand brushed against the frilled sleeve of a pale pink frock, he cooed appreciatively, and JJ raised an eyebrow, "The pink? Silly bird, redheads shouldn't wear pink. It's against some rules that someone somewhere made up. Besides, I'm not a pink-wearing kind of girl."

He glared at her and stretched his wing to point at the pink, and JJ sighed, "Alright, if you insist. Here I am now, taking orders from a bird. If I look ridiculous, I will blame you, for your information."  
The owl made a sound that was suspiciously similar to an unimpressed, "Pfft," and flew back to the windowsill, politely turning his back on JJ as she went to the dressing screen.

Slipping into the frock and tying it with a chocolate brown sash, and completing the outfit with matching brown leather kid slippers, she stepped out from behind the screen and curtsied to the owl with a smirk, "Does your majesty approve?"

The owl cocked his head at her, and then winked, before flying out of the window and disappearing into the dawn.

As she went down to the kitchen for breakfast with Elise, she passed Jareth, Auberon, and Lisan, all wearing riding attire, on their way to the stables for a morning ride.

Auberon beamed at her, "Well, if it isn't your little Human, Jareth! And doesn't she look charming this morning!"

Although a little irked by the 'little human' remark, JJ smiled and curtseyed, giving a cheerful, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Jareth grinned knowingly at her, and bowed slightly, "Indeed she does, Father. Pink is quite a fetching color on you, Lady JJ. I'm taking Father and Princess out into the Kingdom for a ride. You know call should you need help."  
Knowing he meant Lucian, she nodded, "Of course, Your Majesty. Thank you."

***

As the week progressed, JJ did her best to remain out of sight and mind of the visiting Princess and Jareth's father, with Elise assisting by showing her a few of the secret passages that ran all through the castle.

The only one she couldn't seem to avoid was Nathair. He walked with her when she explored the castle, assisted her when she studied in the library, and overall, went out of his way to make her days pleasant. They discussed books, art, music, and even politics, and as the days passed, JJ found herself enjoying his company more and more.

The night before they were scheduled to leave the Goblin Castle, Nathair led her out into the gardens.

"Lady July," he said, before correcting himself, "JJ… I can't express how much I've enjoyed our time together."  
JJ smiled as they sat down together on a bench, "I've enjoyed it too, my lord."

"Please," he answered, taking one of her hands in both of his, "Nathair. I understand that this may put you in a difficult situation, but I feel compelled to ask if I may…" he hesitated, as if choosing his words carefully, "Visit you, again, soon."  
"Why would that put me in a difficult situation?" JJ asked, her brow furrowing in confusion, "We've spent every day together that you've been here, I don't understand why--"  
He chuckled, "JJ, I'm asking to visit _you_. Alone. It could be a difficult situation because of the poor relations between my cousin and I, and he may protest it--"  
"Are you asking me out?"

"Out?"  
JJ nodded, "Yeah. Like, dating. Or, courting, I guess. Are you asking to court me?"

He smiled in answer, and JJ stood, her heart suddenly pounding.

_Well this is a fine mess you've gotten yourself into…_

She wanted to say no, a thousand excuses pouring into her mouth and pressing against her lips, but they became jumbled and confused, and all she could manage was to stutter, "I… I don't know, it… I like you, Nathair. I like you a lot, and I have really enjoyed spending time with you, it's just--"  
He stood, pressing a finger to her lips to gently shush her, "I understand, my lady. It isn't a decision to be made lightly, and it's not fair of me to put such pressure on you so soon after being violently uprooted from everything you knew in life."

JJ felt a smirk tug at the corner of her mouth, _Jareth probably has half a dozen ready-made snarky comments to make about the fairness of life_--

"Take your time to decide," Nathair continued, "And in the mean time, I will write to you, as often as possible. No matter your decision, I will always be a friend to you, and I hope my impatience has not affected that friendship."

JJ was about to answer, but her words died when he took her face in both of his hands, and pressed his lips to hers.

She expected the world to fall and her heart to stop, but neither of those things happened. Just a tender brushing of his mouth against hers, and then he stepped back, his expression shadowed even though he was smiling.

JJ frowned slightly at the look in his eyes, but it disappeared almost instantly, and he gently stroked one finger against the side of her face, "Until next time, Precious."  
And then he was gone.

JJ found herself grimacing at the endearment. _Precious. _It had slipped from the Goblin King's mouth on so many occasions, along with other nicknames, but from his lips it sounded natural, even if at times slightly sarcastic. Hearing it from Nathair, however, felt wrong in a way that she didn't understand.

_Maybe it's because I know Jareth doesn't mean it that way, _she thought, turning and slowly making her way back to the castle.

On her way to her room, she was intercepted by none other than Lisan.

The willowy elf grasped her hand and gave her a too-friendly smile, "Oh, Lady July, I've been looking for you all week!"  
JJ hid her grimace with a smile of her own, "Really? I didn't notice."

_Thanks to Elise showing me how to get through a few of the secret passages…_

Lisan twined her arm through JJ's and led her down the hall opposite of her room, "I'm afraid we must've gotten off to a bad start, and if I am to be queen, I should have a good relationship with _all_ of my subjects."

An image came unbidden to JJ's mind, of Lisan surrounded by the over-energetic, hygienically challenged, chicken obsessed goblins, and she couldn't stop her smile from turning into a smirk.

The Elfin Princess apparently took the smirk as a sign of JJ's agreement, because she continued, "And besides, anyone brave enough and clever enough to survive the Labyrinth must be a good companion to have around."  
"Yeah, I keep hearing that," JJ grumbled, wondering if Jareth had told Lisan any exaggerated tales of her journey, or if he was just letting the Elf come to her own conclusions.

"So," she asked, extracting her arm from Lisan's, only to have the Elf take her hand once, "It's official then? Between you and Ja-- His Majesty?"

"Oh, not official, yet. He wants to wait until we know each other a little better before he announces the engagement, to make it seem less of a Business Arrangement. Isn't that romantic?"

In truth, JJ doubted that the Goblin King's intentions were romantic, but she bit her tongue and nodded with another smile.

They came to a door that JJ recognized as one of the guest rooms, and Lisan turned her kitten-eyed gaze on her and batted her lashes, "Lady July, could you possibly help me pack? To be truthful, it's nothing that I couldn't do myself, but I would love to spend the time getting to know you better before I leave, especially since the next time I return, it will most likely be as queen."

"Um… sure. I guess."

The princess clapped her hands delightedly and led her into the room. Gowns in a myriad of colors were piled on the bed, though some had been packed into a large wardrobe trunk.

Swallowing her annoyance with the too-sugary Princess, JJ swiftly set to work, folding undergarments and placing dresses on hangers.

Lisan occasionally handed her a frock or a hanger, but mostly she talked, of fashion and gossip, and JJ listened as patiently as possible, as she got what must've been the Fantasy World version of _Ok! Magazine_.

What annoyed her even more was Lisan's constant physical contact. It seemed like the Elf took every opportunity to grasp JJ's arm, pat her shoulder or her hand, and, when JJ finally got the trunk packed and locked down, embrace her and plant a quick kiss on her cheek.

"You are such a dear!" Lisan proclaimed, "I wish I coul--"  
JJ stopped her by holding up a hand, "No wishes, your Highness, I've had my fill of those for a life time."  
The princess giggled, "Oh silly. Only human wishes have any power, and even then, only if someone chooses to grant them. When I want something done, I have magic to do it for me. If I want something, it's mine. Isn't that wonderful?"

JJ shrugged, "Sometimes it's more wonderful to work for what you want, rather than have it suddenly appear."

"Well, of course you would think that," Lisan said, a bit condescendingly, "You're human, you've never known anything different."  
"I heard that sometimes, Humans who live here long enough are able to do magic."  
"Yes, but that's only after a very long time, and only when they've been here since near the beginning of their life span. You've already reached maturity, so it's doubtful that you'll ever be able to do magic."

JJ shrugged, "Oh well… is there anything else that you require, your highness?"

"Not at all, dear! Except that you come and say goodbye to me tomorrow. But I'm sure you will anyways, since Nathair will be leaving as well."

JJ froze, fighting to keep her expression blank, "Lord Nathair? Why would I--"  
"Oh you silly, you and Nathair are the talk of the Castle!"

The human failed to stop her grimace this time, _Oh dear lord, here we go…  
_"We're just friends," she answered, knowing that she was insisting it to herself as much as she was to Lisan, "People read too much into things."  
Lisan smiled and batted her lashes again, "Of course, of course. But you must see me off tomorrow. I feel we're going to be such fabulous friends."

Once JJ escaped, she headed straight for the kitchens, hoping against hope that Elise would still be awake and working.

Once she got there, however, the orange-haired Elf, whom JJ had learned was called Taryn, informed her, "Elise is out with Phillip."

Remembering vaguely that during their conversation after the ball, her sleepy self had told a sleepy Elise to get off her ass and tell the Captain of the Guard how she felt about him, JJ was torn between elation and frustration, as she muttered, "Oh, Elise, of all the times for you to take me seriously…"

Taryn, who was smaller and younger than Lisan, and infinitely more tolerable, giggled, "You should've seen her get ready. I've never seen her so flustered. I'll be sure to let you know you were looking for her."  
JJ sighed, "If she's still with her Guard, don't worry about it. I just need a spot of sanity, it can wait until tomorrow."

She bid Taryn a good evening, then set out again, not quite certain of where she was going to go, until she found herself in front of the door leading to Jareth's study.

_Looking for a spot of sanity, you decide to go to the king of INsanity… how amazingly logical and clever, Jones. Not._

With a sigh, she knocked. After a long pause, Jareth's tired voice bade her to enter, and she hesitantly opened the door and peered around it.


	15. Another Wish

_In which we get to see Badass Baby Stealing Jareth_.

* * *

**Another Wish**

Jareth was slouched in a chair behind a large desk, which was strewn with papers and odds-and-ends, and JJ soon realized that the entire room reflected the condition of the desk. Books in piles on the floor and shelves, papers scattered, a Globe that was half-covered by what appeared to be a cross between a cropped Biker jacket and a tattered black cloak.

A second glance betrayed a pattern to the chaos, and JJ chuckled, "You know, when I said the Goblins gave the throne room a very Bohemian look, I didn't realize you would take me serious."

"The chaos helps me think," Jareth drawled, lazily twirling a crystal over his fingers, "Is there something I can do for you, Precious?"

She went to the desk, and sat down on it, tucking one foot beneath her and letting the other dangle, "If you're not busy… or napping…"  
"Neither. I was merely contemplating the ripping out of my own hair, but then I realized what a foolish waste of perfect style that would be, and switched to the idea of bludgeoning myself over the head repeatedly."  
"Wow. Your week was that good, huh?"  
He grimaced, "I tried to give Lisan a tour of the Kingdom. For someone so hell-bent on becoming queen of it, she certainly seemed challenged in the area of taking interest in the damned thing."

"Unless I missed my guess, I'd say she had a problem with the Goblins?"

He made a 'tch' of disgust before continuing, "She wanted to know why they all had to be 'so dirty and disgusting', and suggested that 'we' should find a way to make them more presentable, and 'useful to society'."

JJ raised an eyebrow, "As in, make them pretty and give them productive jobs? Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of being a Goblin?"  
"Goblins do have their purpose in life. It may not seem a very important purpose to us, but it is nonetheless their purpose. I'm not here to change what they do with their lives… I'm only here to ensure that they don't get hurt while doing it."

"I read somewhere that Goblins do things like steal one sock out of a pair, and sour the last little bit left in a milk carton, little annoying stuff like that."  
Jareth nodded, "Some of them do. But there is one very important thing that all Goblins do."  
JJ raised an eyebrow questioningly, and he continued, "They live their lives as part of the Labyrinth. They're as much the stuff of dreams as pixies and unicorns. And they're needed by the Labyrinth to create dreams, as much as dreamers are to sustain the Labyrinth."

JJ thought of the first goblin she'd met, Gurk, and chuckled, "I wouldn't change them for anything in the world. They're funny and cute, and kind, in their own way."

With a sigh, Jareth replied, "I hope Lisan comes to realize that before long. Otherwise, it's going to be… _interesting_."

JJ grimaced, "I hate to whine, but… Do you _have_ to marry her?"  
"I'm afraid father is insistent. He wants me to announce my engagement to her within a month, unless I find a bride of my own choosing before then."

"Why don't you just tell him to bug off? Stay as the Goblin King, and let someone else be High King, if Auberon wants to retire so badly?"  
"Because," Jareth explained, "If I refuse, my father will take away my title as Goblin King, and give it to the next in line."  
"And that is?"  
"Nathair."

JJ felt a muscle in her jaw twitch, and she grumbled, "Why does he seem to keep popping up everywhere I look?"

Jareth arched an eyebrow, and asked, "So it's true, then… he's taken quite a liking to you?"

"He wants to see me. As in, with a capitol 'S' kisses-and-flowers kind of 'See'."  
"I was afraid of that… and you're not welcoming of his intentions?"  
She sighed and leaned sideways, propping her elbow on the desk and resting her head in her hand, "It's not that I don't like him. I just don't know if I like him that much."

Jareth leaned forward, resting his own elbows on the desk, his fingers steepled beneath his chin, "I see. While I do not presume to decide who you should give your heart to, I do feel compelled to warn you… Nathair is manipulative, arrogant, and often far too keen on getting his own way at times."  
JJ smirked a little, "Oh, that doesn't sound familiar _at all_."

"I'm serious, JJ," Jareth said, quietly, "He's dangerous to someone like you."

"You're dangerous."  
"Yes, but unlike Nathair, I know how to control myself. And being a Goblin King has put a great amount of patience into me that he is unlikely to have even a concept of."

JJ sighed, "I didn't mean to argue…"  
"You humans," Jareth smirked, "And your tendency to say things you don't mean."

"I _did_ mean to say that you're dangerous," JJ retorted, sitting up with a glare, "I just didn't mean to sound like I was defending him."

Jareth grinned, and stood, slowly circling the corner of the desk to stand in front of her, "Oh? You think I'm dangerous, then?"  
His grin showed his sharp canines, and JJ had to remind herself that she trusted him. Somewhat.

"Yes," she answered, "Especially to females."  
The grin only stretched further, and he casually brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear, the cool leather of his glove tracing down the side of her neck and raising goosebumps.

"Really? _Especially _to females…"  
"Particularly prepubescent teens," JJ managed to sound flippant, standing and twirling away from him with a smirk, "How many sexual fantasies have those sinfully tight pants corrupted, hmm?"

Jareth's fiendish grin quickly turned into a scowl, "Someone's been telling you stories."

"Oh yes," JJ grinned, leaning against the desk, snatching up the crystal orb that Jareth had left unattended, "Rather interesting stories, too."

She turned the crystal in her hand, and a flash of moving color caught her eye and snared her full attention.

She managed to catch an image of herself reaching towards a blur of colored shapes before Jareth covered the hand holding the crystal with both of his, his gloved fingers blocking the image from view.

JJ raised an eyebrow at him and he scolded, teasingly, "No peeking."

She scowled at the offending fingers, then a question occurred to her, "Why do you wear gloves all the time?"

Jareth laughed, "Short attention span, darling?"

"Lucian and Nathair do, too. Why?"  
"I'll take that as a yes… We wear gloves to protect other people from the influence of our Magic."  
"Huh?"  
"Think of it as a politeness. Observe," he pressed his gloved hand to her face, and JJ realized that although she could feel the warmth of his palm through the thin leather, she did not feel the tingling that she'd felt when he'd taken away her nightmare.

"So the tingly feeling, that's magic?"

"Yes. Even when we're not working a spell, you can still feel it. Fae wear gloves to block it, especially when dealing with humans, since you cannot protect yourself should we wish to use magic on you."

"Lisan doesn't wear gloves…"  
"That's because she's an Elf. They're… naïve, when it comes to the consideration of others."

"Oh. Elise said that humans who live here long enough learn to use magic, but Lisan said it takes too long… would I be able to learn?"

"I don't know," he answered, looking suddenly contemplative, "I've never tried to teach an adult. Elf magic would take too long for you to learn, they rely too much on Earth Magic, but Fae Magic… I'll look into it. It could be an interesting venture."

Suddenly, the medallion against his pale chest gleamed, as if a sudden shaft of sunlight had struck it, and he groaned, stepping away from her and looking even more exhausted than before.

"What's wrong?" JJ asked, frowning in concern and setting the crystal orb on the desk.

"A wish," he answered, "Someone is wishing away a child."

A swirl of dark glitter, and suddenly he was no longer the casual king relaxing after a hard day, but a frightening villain in black and deep purples, a high bat-wing collar framing his face, his medallion gleaming against a black breastplate that appeared to be made of some sort of leather. A ragged cloak made up from layers of semi-transparent, black and purple cloth covered his shoulders and gave him the appearance of having folded wings.

"How do I look?" he asked, the tired look replaced with an evil smile.  
"Frightening. Off to give some poor kid a heart attack?"

"It's the simple things in life that I value the most."  
JJ snorted, and then asked on impulse, "Can I come?"

"Whatever for?" he replied, his darkly shadowed eyebrows raising in surprise.

"I'm curious," JJ answered, "I want to see the Evil Goblin King at work."

He chuckled, "Very well. But that lovely frock fails to bring the words, 'Evil Minion' to mind…"

He swept the crystal off of the table, and tossed it at her with a smirk, "Catch."  
She reached for it, and the moment it made contact with her skin, it exploded in a puff of dark glitter.

Blinking and waving the glitter from her face, she found her hands covered with black leather gloves that ended at her wrists and then extended into bracers of the same material.

A short-sleeved, black leather corset top hugged her figure, and the skirt she'd been wearing was replaced with black pants made of the same thin leather as her gloves, hugging her legs down to her knees and then flaring out ever so slightly, like boot-cut jeans.

Jareth admired his work, "Just one thing missing," he pronounced, going over to the globe in the corner and snatching the coat/cloak combination. He instructed JJ to put it on, and when she did, he practically beamed, "Perfectly frightening."

JJ noticed that the fastenings on the front of the jacket where shaped like his medallion, and that it sported bone-like framework in the collar that reached up to frame her face and hair, similar to what Jareth was wearing. Small black pauldrons curved over the shoulders, the edges sweeping upwards on top of the shoulders, giving them a spiked appearance.

She also noticed that the sleeves covered her hands, and she remarked, "It's a little big…"

Wordlessly, he tapped it with one finger, and it shrank to fit her perfectly. He then swept out of the door, motioning for JJ to follow, and of course, she did.

He walked with her to the throne room, and the Cuban heels of her leather boots clicked pleasantly against the stone floor. She caught sight of herself in a mirror as they neared the throne room, and she paused to gape at her reflection in unabashed shock.

Her hair had never been tame, even on her best days, but now it was wilder than it had ever been before, and glittered subtly. Black streaks had been added to the curls, and her eye make up, in shades of black and purple, was identical to Jareth's, including the pale glitter on her lightly glossed lips.

"Damn," she murmured.

"You can admire yourself later," Jareth called back at her, "We've got a baby to steal and a mortal to torment."

In the throne room, the goblins had already amassed, and were chattering excitedly. Nobbiggo was there as well, giving instructions to the creatures, but he turned immediately to Jareth.  
"Sire," he said, bowing, "The Wisher is a mother. Young, selfish, most unlikely to take the challenge."

Jareth nodded, his eyes flashing angrily, "Well done, Nobbiggo."

He turned to JJ, baring his teeth in an unpleasant grin, "Shall we, then?"

JJ hesitated only a second, before taking his hand.

The throne room disappeared, and was replaced by a small, dingy apartment living room.

A woman around JJ's age stood by the window, smoking a cigarette, her back turned to the newcomers. Her unkempt blonde hair was pulled into a pony tail, and her clothes were rumpled, and looked as if they'd been slept in.

In the other room, a baby that sounded like a newborn wailed, and immediately JJ started forward, but Jareth held her back, motioning for her to be quiet.

The baby continued to cry, and the woman turned to snarl, "God, won't you just _shut up--"_

She swore when she saw Jareth, and stumbled backwards, the cigarette falling from her fingers onto the linoleum floor.

Jareth curled his lip in disgust, and extinguished it with a flick of his fingers.

"Wh-- who are you?!" The woman demanded, panic evident on her face.

A few snickers resounded around the room, as one by one, the goblins made their presence known, popping out of drawers and under furniture. JJ recognized Gurk standing behind the TV, and he gave her a thumbs up.

The woman demanded to know Jareth's identity once more, and JJ couldn't help but snark, "A bit slower than most, aren't you?"

Jareth smirked, and realization finally seemed to dawn in the woman's eyes, "You're _him_?!"

He tilted his head to one side, his fists on his hips, looking frighteningly out of place in the dark apartment.

The woman's panic escalated, "No… No, I didn't mean it! Please--"  
"What's said is said," Jareth admonished, crossing his arms over his chest, not bothering to hide his amusement.

The woman's gaze darted to the other room, and JJ saw guilt and terror mingle with the panic.

"Precious," Jareth turned the smirk to JJ, "Would you mind claiming what this woman so carelessly wished away?"

JJ nodded and started towards the other room, but the woman blocked her, throwing her arms across the door way and yelling a protest, "Stay away from my daughter, you bitch!"

JJ arched an eyebrow, silently thanking Jareth for the boots that gave her a height advantage over the woman.

The words from the story came to mind, and she quoted, "Give me the child."  
"No!"  
"You asked that the child be taken," Jareth purred, and JJ continued for him, "And we've come to take her."

She tilted her head, the way she'd seen Jareth do, and pinned the woman with a shriveling look, "You've called upon the forces of Magic, and summoned the King of the Goblins, and now it's time to pay the piper."  
The woman shrank back, but still shook her head, "I never thought it would work…"  
"Wishes have no power unless they're meant," JJ snarled, "You wanted to be free of your own child so desperately, you were willing to wish for _Goblins _to take it away."

The woman burst into tears, "I never wanted it," she sobbed, "I never wanted to get pregnant, it just happened, and the thing never shuts up, and I never get a moment's peace, and--"

"Lauren," Jareth beckoned, holding out his hand and summoning a crystal.

Immediately, the woman's gaze flicked to the orb, "What is that?"  
"It's a crystal," he answered, "Nothing more. But if you turn it this way and look into it," he demonstrated, bringing the crystal to his fingertips in a fluid motion, "It'll show you your dreams."

Lauren glanced between the crystal and JJ, and Jareth added, "Your dreams in exchange for the babe… is it really that difficult of a decision for you?"

Apparently not. The woman moved out of JJ's way and grasped the crystal, sitting on the floor with it and gazing into it intently.

JJ glared at her for a moment, before entering the room and finding a small baby, no more than a few months old.

She stopped crying as soon as JJ picked her up, and snuggled against her, hiccupping quietly.

Although JJ was not particularly fond of children, her heart melted when the baby's tiny fingers grasped one of the buckles on the jacket, her eyes drifting shut as she basked in the comfort brought on by physical contact.

JJ whirled around, and marched back into the living room, struggling to keep her voice low, "What is her name?" she demanded.

The woman looked up at her with the blank stare of an addicted, clutching the crystal to her chest possessively, "What?"  
"The baby's name, what is it?"

"Oh. Emily."

Jareth looked down disdainfully at the woman, and growled, "Enjoy your dreams, Lauren. They are all you have left."

He took JJ's arm, and a moment later, they were back in the throne room.

A maid greeted them immediately, and took the baby from JJ, promising to take good care of her.

Jareth flopped down onto his throne, scrubbing at his face, obviously exhausted.

JJ stood still, torn between the furious urge to go back and beat the negligent woman, and a bitter satisfaction that they'd rescued a child from an unfit mother.

As if reading her thoughts, Jareth sighed, "And that is what I do. Wishers are not often, but they still occur."

"She didn't even _try--"_

"And for that, I'm grateful. She would never have survived the Labyrinth. Older children, teenagers who run it, they're shown an amount of grace, but for adults, no mercy is shown."  
JJ glanced at the door that the maid had disappeared through with the baby, "What will happen to Emily?"

"She'll be taken care of, JJ, don't worry."  
"I have to know, Jareth. What will happen to her?"  
He smiled at her concern, "She'll be fed, bathed, and looked over by a healer to make sure she suffers no illness or injury. And then, once the healer is satisfied with her condition, she will be given to a family unable to have children. Fae, Humans, and Half-lings all live in the city, waiting for a child like Emily to need a home. Does that satisfy your worry?"  
JJ nodded, and walked over to the throne, sitting down at the foot of it like she'd done before.

"There's just one thing I don't understand still," she said, "How can you be so kind and caring one minute, and then take on the role of villain so easily the next?"  
"You just said it yourself… it's a role. A well-practiced one at that."

"You seemed to enjoy it."  
He chuckled, "You did, as well. Any creature with a capacity for kindness also has a capacity for great cruelty."  
JJ nodded again, and leaned her head back against the throne, and closed her eyes, suddenly tired.

Jareth's fingers threaded gently through her hair, smoothing the curls back into their natural state, "The hour grows late," he remarked, "You should go to bed."

He helped her to her feet, and led her out of the throne room, where they were met by Elise.

The maid grinned when she saw JJ, dropped a curtsey, and then grasped her friend by the arm, "Sorry, your Majesty, but I'm going to steal her from you."

Jareth laughed, "By all means, Elise. Just make sure she gets some sleep tonight. Oh, before I forget… how's Phillip doing?"

He waited to see Elise's bright blush before laughing and disappearing.


	16. An Unlucky Interlude

_Hello, all. I had an unfortunate crash-and-burn after the completion of chapter fifteen, and have decided to take a day or two away from Unlucky Thirteen to allow my mind to recuperate. And so, I give you something to amuse yourselves with whilst the neurons regenerate._

_Please, I beg you, do not take it seriously._

_

* * *

  
_

I scrubbed at my face blearily and made a noise of exhausted frustration. The cursor blinked at me mockingly, each blip a reminder of my painful diagnosis: Writer's Block.

The last time I'd suffered a case of it, it had taken me nearly six months to recover. The symptoms included dissatisfaction, self-depreciation, tired eyes, sore fingers, and a splitting headache that four Tylenol pills had yet to abolish.

The fact that I had a wisdom tooth incoming wasn't helping, and I was certain that my right hand was developing carpal tunnel.

I reached beneath my laptop to adjust it, and swore violently when hot metal seared my fingers.

"Tsk, Sara, such language," a smooth voice scolded, gently. I turned to glare at the intruder, who lounged in the over-stuffed arm chair, one tight-clad leg dangling over the arm of it, with the booted foot of his other leg propped up on the knee.

"Why the hell does the bottom of a laptop get so damn hot, anyways?!" I demanded, "It's a _lap_top, not a 'smallish-computer-that-gets-too-hot-to-actually-rest-on-your-_lap_-top."

"Your observation shows a rare level of brilliance that is entirely unique to the human race," Jareth replied, tapping a riding crop against his boot.

I scowled and ignored him, turning back to the screen, though words still failed me.

After I had stared at the glaring whiteness of the blank document for a long while, Jareth's amused voice stated, "You have no idea where you're going, do you."

"Not a clue."

"Would you like some assistance?"

I nearly howled, "Fifteen chapters, fifty-two pages, thirty-nine thousand words into the story, now is not the time for writer's block!!"

He was behind me in an instant, rubbing my shoulder comfortingly as my head struck wood, the sure sign of a writer's defeat that was affectionately known as 'The Headdesk'.

"Would you like some more of that disgusting concoction that you so thoroughly rely upon for your inspiration?" The Goblin King suggested, motioning to the empty Dr. Pepper can sitting on the desk beside my computer.

I whimpered, "I'm two days out of the good Doctor, and payday is two more days away."

"Aww," Jareth patted me on the head affectionately, and one could almost pretend there wasn't any sarcasm in his voice, "You _poor_ little dear. What is it that's giving you so much difficulty? I was under the impression that you had the general outline of the plot all figured out."

"I do."

"So…?"

"There's no dinosaurs in it."

I could practically hear those eyebrows hitting his hairline, "I beg your _pardon_?"

"Putting dinosaurs into the mix makes every below-average grade story into a success!"

"…"

"It worked for the Jurassic Park sequels."

"Sara, dear--"

"And Ice Age 3."

"_Sara_--"

"And, I guarantee that if dinosaurs had been in the Star Wars prequels, they would've done a lot better."

He spun my chair around suddenly, "SARA."

"What?!"

"You are not putting dinosaurs into my Labyrinth."

I was offended, "Of course not."

"Good."

"They'll be in the castle."

He face palmed, and I was hasty to add, "Hey, if Tolkien can put giant freakin' elephants into his story, than why can't I have dinosaurs?!"

"For the same reason you can't have giant robots," he explained, his patience audibly strained, "It just won't--"

"Oh!!! Giant robots!!! Jare-bear, you're BRILLIANT!"

"Oh god, please don't--"

I stood, stretching my hands to outline a banner, and saying in my Epic Voice, "Transformers vs. Dinosaurs, Battlefield Labyrinth! The Story that Jim Henson never thought of!"

I hugged my unfortunate muse, got glitter all over my clothes in the process, and sat down at my laptop, my fingers flying at 85 WPM.

Jareth flopped down on the couch, glancing at the clock and burying his face in his hands, moaning, "Oh this is going to be a _long_ night…"


	17. Bandia

_In which we can haz Drama_

_

* * *

_

**Bandia**

"It's not fair!" the whiny voice of Princess Lisan hissed as she prowled around her room, throwing pillows to suppress the urge to break things and make noise.  
The man lounging on her bed smirked at the crystal in his hand, which showed JJ and Elise sitting together and talking happily.  
Lisan bared her teeth at the image, "How can she be so happy when I'm so miserable!?"  
"Is the plan not going so well, dearest?" The man murmured, not even blinking when the Elf snatched the crystal away from him and shattered it against the floor in a fit.  
"I'm the one he's going to marry! Not her!"  
"Has he asked--"  
"He took her to answer a Wish tonight!!! And I can't even get a smile from him the way she does! He always has time for her! Making sure her every little whim is attended to!"  
The man sighed, "Normally, I have infinite patience for you, my dear, but your dramatics are getting a bit out of hand. You're acting jealous of a human. A creature that will wither and die in the time it takes to draw breath."  
"I want him! Not just his body, not just his title, I want all of him! And I'll never have him as long as that annoying little human occupies his thoughts! I want her gone, do you hear me?! I want her gone!!!"  
The man stood and slowly crossed over to her, grasping her shoulders and kissing her deeply to silence her.  
After a long moment, he pulled away with a smirk, "Patience, love. When you're the Goblin Queen, you can do whatever you want with the mortal. Until then, play nice," he stroked her face and she gave him a feral grin in return, "And wait for my order."  
He went to the window, transformed into a large golden eagle, and flew off into the night.

***  
JJ dreamed, yet again. This time, however, it was not a nightmare, a fact that she was rather grateful for. She walked through the Goblin City, enjoying the silence of a golden twilight. She came to the wall separating the maze from the city, and pressed her hands against the warm sandstone, and whispered, "Open."  
Because it was a dream, she was not surprised as the wall shifted beneath her fingers, opening a straight path that she knew led to the gate on the other side of the Labyrinth. She walked through it, keeping her hand against the now straight wall as she went, enjoying the warmth of the stone, and the tingling of the magic that whispered over her skin.  
She came to the gate, and it swung open before her without question, but she smiled, and shook her head.  
"I'm not leaving," she announced, and she tangibly felt the Labyrinth's approval, pouring out of the stone beneath her hand and warming her body to the tips of her toes.

***

Hours after she awoke that morning, JJ watched from behind the massive doors that were half-opened out into the courtyard of the Goblin Castle, as Jareth bid his father, Princess Lisan, and Nathair farewell.  
Although she could not hear what was being said, she could only assume that things were amiable, as Auberon clasped his son's shoulder warmly, and Jareth even shook his cousin's hand.  
Lucian's voice from behind alerted her to his presence, "Spying, little one?"  
She glanced backwards at him before returning to her observation, "Just making sure that they actually leave before I come out of hiding."  
The Shadowlord laughed, quietly, "Oh? Nathair has been that adamant in his attentions, then?"  
"No, it's not him I'm hiding from. It's Lisan."  
The Princess in question had gone a little overboard in proclaiming her sadness at having to leave the Goblin City, going so far as to snog Jareth full on the mouth.  
Auberon and Nathair politely looked away, and JJ leaned back behind the door, making an exaggerated gagging motion, much to Lucian's amusement.  
"What's the matter, dear? You don't approve?"  
"Not at all," JJ grumbled, "She's too much of a… a…"  
"Forward little tart with no sense of propriety?" Lucian suggested, to which JJ snickered.  
Jareth entered, closing the doors behind him with a wave of his hand, "Behave yourself, Lucian," he scolded, "She is, after all, my fiancé-to-be."  
JJ and Lucian started after the Goblin King, JJ asking, "So you did ask her, then?"  
"Yes."  
Lucian made a face behind Jareth's back, but JJ shook her head at him, saying, "Well, congratulations then, I guess. She's… nice."  
"She'll learn," Jareth stopped and turned to face them, putting on hand on JJ's shoulder, "You may have to take the role of example, my dear. Perhaps you can help her understand that not every kingdom can be as idyllic as the Western Woods, but that doesn't make them any less of a kingdom, nor its subjects any less deserving of a good ruler."  
JJ grimaced, but nodded anyways, "I suppose I can try. This means more book-reading for me, doesn't it?"  
"Indeed. To help her understand the Goblins, you'll need to know their history. It probably won't hurt for you to learn Elfin history as well."  
Lucian smirked at her, "Ooh, sounds fun."  
JJ glared at him, "Be careful, snow-boy, or I'll have Elise and Nobbiggo shanghai you into helping them teach me."  
He grinned, "I wouldn't mind. However, I'm not sure what I would teach you would be very helpful in a diplomatic sense."  
"Oh, as if--"  
"All right, you two," Jareth interjected, "Take your noise outside. I've got a kingdom to run, something I haven't been able to do properly all week."  
"Can I go out into the Labyrinth?" JJ asked.  
"Whatever for?" Jareth replied, "Haven't had enough of those exhilarating near-death experiences?"  
"I want to explore. I've been in the castle all week, the furthest out I've been is the garden. Please?" She batted her eyes at him and pouted, clasping her hands in front of her, causing Lucian to snicker.  
Jareth hesitated, before relenting, "Fine. Lucian, you'll go with her. Keep her out of trouble."  
JJ hugged the Goblin King quickly before dashing for one of the huge front doors, grasping the handle and pulling it open, using most of her weight to do so.  
Jareth eyed Lucian and planted a finger against his chest to accentuate his order, "I mean it, Lucian. Out. Of. Trouble. Have I made myself clear?"  
Smirking, Lucian answered, "Crystal."

Unlike her dream, the Goblin City was bustling with activity, even more so than JJ would have expected. When she asked Lucian, he explained, "The merchants are getting ready for the Goblin Market that's held every Midsummer's Night, which is soon approaching."  
"Really? That's amazing! Do you think Jareth will let me go?"  
"I don't see why not," Lucian answered, "Since he himself will be there. Unless I'm very much mistaken, he'll officially announce his engagement to Lisan at that time, since a representative of every court will be there."

They came to the outer wall of the Labyrinth, and JJ, remembering her dream, immediately went to it, pressing her hands against the stone.  
"What on earth are you doing?" Lucian asked in bemusement.  
"I dunno," JJ answered, "Experimenting?"  
Turning her full attention to the Labyrinth, she closed her eyes. The stone pulsed faintly beneath her fingertips, its magic whispering over the flesh of her palms like a spider web.  
"Open," she whispered.  
Nothing happened.  
Disappointed, she pulled away, planting her fists on her hips and scowling at the wall, causing Lucian to laugh, "What did you expect? For the very foundations of the Labyrinth to part before your command as the Cave of Wonders did before Ali Baba?"  
JJ turned her scowl on Lucian, "Actually, I did."  
He laughed harder, struggling for breath, "You silly girl!" he exclaimed, holding his sides, "The Labyrinth listens to Jareth and Jareth alone. Even Amalthea can't order it, only suggest what she would like for it to do."  
JJ turned back and pressed her hands against the walls once again, "Open Please?"  
Still, nothing happened.  
"What in the Underground gave you that silly notion?" Lucian finally asked, managing to stifle his laughter, but not the grin stretching his face.  
JJ sighed and gave a shrug, "I had a dream. Figured it was worth a shot."  
Lucian put both hands on her shoulders, and spoke with the patience of an adult explaining something to a very small child, "Dear girl, the Labyrinth is the oldest, most powerful thing in the Underground. For a mortal to even communicate with it is unheard of, but to command it and receive obedience… you're more likely to turn the tide with a word than to shift the Labyrinth."  
She sighed again, and took his hand when he held it out to her.

Together, they entered the Labyrinth, and Lucian allowed her to explore it to her heart's content. Now that she wasn't trying to escape, the Labyrinth was quite amicable, shifting walls to allow her access to interesting corners of the maze.  
Lucian did note with curiosity that JJ kept her hand against the stone walls as much as possible, but he kept his questions to himself, following a pace or so behind the energetic human, only interfering if she came too close to an oubliette.

All too soon, night began to creep slowly over the twists and turns, filling them with pale shadows. By that time, they had made it to the center of the Garden Maze, near the Cherry Tree ring.  
Delighted with rediscovering her favorite part of the Labyrinth, JJ took her shoes off and ran through the cool, velvety grass, laughing out loud when a group of brightly glowing fairies joined her, tugging lightly at her hair and brushing their wings against her face.  
"Careful," Lucian warned, "They bite."  
"Only if you're foolish enough to catch one," JJ answered, smiling at one fairy that hovered near her nose, "Nathair told me about them."  
"Did he tell you that they're venomous?"  
"No. Are they?"  
Lucian shrugged, "Their queens are. The venom isn't deadly, but it can have strange side effects."  
JJ froze as one of the fairies landed on her shoulder, and began playing hopscotch, "Like what kind of side effects?"  
"Sight, mostly. Creatures from our world use what's called 'Glamour' to hide from human sight. Fairy venom allows humans to see through that Glamour."  
"That is so cool," JJ murmured, as the fairy finished her game and took flight, leaving a faint dusting of glitter on her sleeve.

Suddenly, all the fairies stopped and hovered, their glowing forms bobbing excitedly, before they returned to JJ, grabbing at her hair and clothes and pulling more demandingly than before.  
JJ yelped as their combined attempt forced her forward a few steps to keep from stumbling, and Lucian chuckled, "It seems as if they want you to go with them."  
"I can see that, but where-- ow! Hey, take it easy!"  
She growled and started following the fairies, who released her as soon as she had done so.  
They led her to the ring of cherry trees, whose blossoms were dropping off of the branches and swirling around the clearing in the sweetly perfumed breeze.  
Once she was near the clearing, the fairies abandoned her to perch in the branches, their glows dimming until they were nearly invisible.  
JJ glanced back at Lucian to find him staring into the clearing with a look of awe on his face, and when she followed his gaze, her own jaw dropped: a horse stepped into the ring of trees, the last rays of the setting sun gleaming off of its silver flanks. A long, spiraled horn protruded from the middle of its forehead, its point glinting wickedly in the light.  
It turned its gaze towards JJ, flaring its nostrils slightly to take in her scent.  
A soft hand rested on the human's shoulder, as the Librarian's voice murmured, "You should bow, JJ. She's royalty in her own right."  
JJ obediently sank to her knees in the grass, lowering her head respectfully as the unicorn approached.  
Amalthea knelt beside her, and JJ whispered, "Does she have a name?"  
"She has many names," the Librarian answered, "You may call her Bandia."  
Amalthea stood, and JJ looked up to find the Unicorn standing only a foot away, her hoof falls infinitely more delicate than any mortal horse could accomplish.  
Amalthea ran her hands along the delicate contours of the Unicorn's face, smiling warmly and murmuring to her in an unknown language.  
Bandia stared into JJ's eyes, and the human was amazed at the colors that swirled through their depths, as if an entire forest resided within them.  
Lucian approached, and kneeled a respectful distance away, "JJ, this is… a tremendous honor. Unicorns, while part of the Labyrinth, are not under its rule. They are very rarely seen, even by Jareth, and Bandia never leaves her grove…"  
The Unicorn bowed her head slightly to acknowledge Lucian, before turning her gaze back to JJ, studying the human girl with an intensity that would have made her uncomfortable, had she not been thoroughly entranced by the creature's beauty.  
Her delicate body was taller and slimmer than a horse, but she appeared twice as powerful despite her fragile frame. Her head was as defined as that of an Arabian, but her nose turned downwards ever so slightly, and though she was horse-like in shape, one look at her face made her true nature apparent, to say nothing of the lethal-looking horn.

She held JJ's gaze, and JJ felt the urge to touch the beautiful creature, to feel her silky coat beneath her fingers.  
Without thinking, she slowly held her hand out towards Bandia. Amalthea stiffened, and Lucian whispered a panicked "No!", but it was too late: Bandia stretched her velvety muzzle and pressed against JJ's palm, gently.  
She gasped as something like an electric shock ran through her arm, and for a brief second, her vision went black.  
Someone grasped her by her upper arms and yanked her forcefully away from the unicorn, and when she could see again, she was looking into the face of one angry Goblin King. Pulling her roughly to her feet, the Cherry Trees disappeared to be replaced by the throne room.  
He gripped her arms painfully, shouting, "What in the name of Dagda did you think you were doing?!"  
JJ shrank back, afraid of him for the first time since meeting him, "I.. I was--"  
"Do you have any idea what you've done?! What could have happened to you?!"  
"Amalthea was touching her--"  
"Amalthea is allowed!!! Amalthea is more a part of the Labyrinth than I am, she may touch the Wild Things, but not you! Not any mortal!!"  
"Nothing bad happened--"  
"Nothing?! Nothing!!!" He gripped her wrist with bruising force and turned her hand palm up, "Is this what you call nothing?!"  
JJ glanced at it to find the tips of her fingers glowing with a silver sheen, as if she'd dipped them in liquid silver.  
"Oh."  
"Oh?! You defy the very laws that hold this kingdom together, and all you can say is 'Oh'?!"  
He released her and stormed about, pacing and growling curses beneath his breath.  
Lucian was at her side in an instant, gently placing one hand on her arm, his cool touch soothing the bruises.  
"Jareth," he chided, "She did not know it was forbidden, and Bandia invited her touch--"  
The Goblin King whirled on his brother, pointing at him accusingly, "You were supposed to keep her out of trouble!! How could you let this happen?! I allow you into my kingdom in spite of my father's wishes, and in return, all I ask is that you keep one little mortal girl out of trouble, and yet you are incapable of even that!"  
The temperature in the room dropped about ten degrees as the Shadowlord's face darkened in anger, but he set his jaw, obviously not wanting to start a fight.  
"It's not his fault," JJ protested, "He didn't know I would--"  
"Be silent!" he glared at her, and JJ felt her face burn as his voice took on a tone of disgust, "You mortals and your incessant need to touch, to sully everything in this world that is pure and free of your poison."  
JJ flinched as if physically struck, and Lucian angrily scolded, "Jareth!", but the human woman found her own voice, "It's called curiosity, your majesty!"  
Jareth bristled, staring at her coldly, but JJ did not back down, her own voice raising, "And it's something that you shouldn't speak so disgustedly about! Without our curiosity, we would be nothing; we wouldn't dream! And without our dreams, your Labyrinth would die, and there would be no need for your precious laws-- no need for you!"  
"Tread carefully, child," Jareth hissed, his eyes flashing dangerously, but JJ ignored him, pushing Lucian's cautioning hand away as she continued, fists clenched at her sides, "I will not! I've been walking on egg shells ever since I got here, doing my best to be grateful, even though I'm a slave in all but name! You speak to me as if I'm some sort of rather intelligent pet, and expect me to learn a new lifestyle in a matter of days when it took me twenty years just to become who I am now! I gave up everything without so much as a complaint, I allowed you to exhibit me without protest! I have done everything you asked, without wanting a thing in return! I'm exhausted from living up to your expectations of me! And you fly off the handle at the first mistake?!"  
Jareth visibly paled as JJ unwittingly threw his own words into his face, but she was too furious to care.  
They glared at each other for a long moment, Jareth's countenance stony and unrelenting, JJ's bright red and trembling.  
There was no telling exactly how long the stare-down would have lasted, because the instant that tears began to prick her eyes, JJ turned and ran, angrily brushing the treacherous drops from her face. On her way out of the throne room, she brushed past Elise without any acknowledgement, not stopping until she reached her room, where she slammed the door loud enough for it to be heard in the throne room, locked it, and threw herself on her bed, sobbing.

Elise stared after her for a long moment, before marching into the throne room and glaring at Jareth, "What the hell did you say to her?!"

* * *

_Methinks his Majesty is going to get an earful from Elise. And dundundun, LISAN IS EVIL BITCH! Love it? Hate it? Review, plz. I hate begging, but I'll do it anyways._


	18. Consequences are Revealed

_In which JJ gets more confusion._

_

* * *

_

**Consequences are revealed**

Lisan looked up with a smile as the golden eagle flew into her chambers, transforming into the dark form of her lover.

"Darling," she purred, "I trust you have good news for me?"  
He smirked at her, and tossed her a crystal, which she caught effortlessly and peered into.

"Ah," she grinned, "Had a little disagreement, did they? This could definitely work to our advantage. What happened?"

"The mortal touched a Unicorn mare," he answered, reclaiming the crystal and vanishing it.

Lisan's eyes widened, "That's not possible. No mortal could ever lay hands on a unicorn, it would kill them!"  
"For whatever reasons," he shrugged, "The Labyrinth protected her."

Lisan stood, and began to pace, "Find out why.

A wicked grin twisted his features as he bowed, "Of course, my _dear."_

***

By morning, the glow had faded from her fingers. The skin still tingled, but that discomfort was nothing to the one brought on by the memory of the argument.

Because of that, the rest of the week passed quietly, with JJ going out of her way to avoid Jareth, in spite of Elise, Lucian and Nobbiggo trying to convince her to talk to him.

She became well acquainted with the secret passages that snaked all throughout the castle, particularly the one leading from just outside her room to the library, the exit of which hid behind a moving bookcase. However, she had to use a more conventional route to get from her room to the kitchens, and that forced her to use the main corridors at least twice a day.

One such day, as she went to get some lunch, she heard the approaching clack of Jareth's boots against the stone floor and his voice as he spoke to a servant, and she grimaced, pressing herself into an alcove and cursing him for his rare decision to actually _walk_ instead of transport.

_Please don't let him see me, I'm not ready to face him, I don't _want_ to talk to him--_

Suddenly, a tapestry dropped down over the alcove, effectively hiding her from view.

A moment later, he and the servant passed by, their voices fading into distance, and once she was sure they were gone, JJ slipped out from behind the tapestry, staring at it in wonder.

"Thanks," She whispered.

As time passed, little things like that continued to happen, and she did her best to ignore the uneasy feeling they brought.

Books in the library that were out of her reach would mysteriously fall into her outstretched hand. Bathwater that was too hot or too cold would suddenly become perfect at her hiss of discomfort.

Not only did these incidents make her uneasy, but they also seemed to bring on a mild but annoying headache that would not leave for an hour or more.

The final straw, however, was waking up after a dream in which she had been focusing on forming a crystal in her hand. She had managed to get the orb to coalesce between her fingers when Elise threw aside the curtains, allowing the early morning sunlight in and forcing the young woman into a semi-conscious state.

She swore and turned over, throwing her pillow over her head as Elise chided, "Insult the sun all you like, Miss, but he'll still come up all the same."

JJ repeated the curse, and then shrieked and jumped out of the bed when something smooth and cool brushed against her face.

Elise rushed to help her, and then stopped abruptly when she saw the object on the pillow that had caused the human such alarm.

JJ tentatively reached out and picked up the crystal, cradling it in her fingers and staring into it with growing apprehension.

"JJ," Elise murmured, her own anxiety apparent, "That's not one of His Majesty's."  
"How can you tell?" JJ asked; though she had a sinking feeling that she already knew.

The crystal, although the same size and perfect shape, was clouded all through out, with faint swirls of silver that could only be seen if the light hit it just right.

JJ also noted that it was lighter than his was, as if hollow, and fragile.

"This is bad, isn't it?" she asked, and Elise nodded. She gingerly took the crystal between her own fingers, but as soon as she had lifted it from JJ's palm, it exploded, covering both girls in a powdery silver residue.

JJ clapped both hands over her mouth in shock, and Elise grabbed her shoulders, "JJ, please tell me it didn't have a spell in it!"  
JJ hummed questioningly from behind her fingers, and Elise repeated, "Tell me there wasn't a spell in that crystal!"

"I don't know!" JJ whispered, moving her hands from her mouth, "I was asleep!"

"Did you wish anything with it? Were you thinking about anything at all when you made it?"  
"I don't know!" she reiterated, "I don't think so… I was dreaming about making one, that's all, just about being able to make one and-- hey!"  
Elise dragged her from the room, down the hall, and into the library.

"You stay here. Find out whatever you can on crystal magic from the spell books, they are all on the top shelves. I'll be back as soon as I can."  
"Where are you going?!" JJ whimpered, now past the verge of panic.

"Out into the Labyrinth to find the Wiseman," Elise answered, "He'll know what we should do."

JJ stared after as she left, then climbed one of the many rolling ladders with a sigh. Only when she reached the top did she realize that all of the magic books that Elise had indicated were written in an alphabet she could not read, something similar to Viking runes that she had seen in history books. She spent the better part of an hour flipping through all of the spell books that she could find, and each of them were written in the same strange language.

She groaned and slowly climbed down the ladder to begin pacing across the floor.

_Well,_ she thought, brushing the book-dust off of her nightgown, _If I can do it in my sleep, maybe I can do it when I'm awake..._

She stopped pacing, and held up her hand, fingers level with her eyes, staring into the space between them, willing a crystal to form. Her fingers started to burn, but she remained focus, and after a long while, the delicate shell of a crystal began to form.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed just outside of the door, and JJ, startled, clenched her fist around the crystal as she had the panicked thought, _I wish I was dressed!!_

A second later, she was sneezing and coughing as the glittery powder exploded in her face.

When it settled, she was shocked to find herself wearing jeans and a plain black t-shirt.

"Holy crap," she muttered, her eyes widening as she fingered the hem of the shirt.

The door to the library opened and she hastily brushed the glitter off her shirt and out of her hair.

A servant entered, and bowed, holding out a letter of cream-colored parchment, "My lady, this arrived for you."  
"Thanks," JJ answered, taking the letter and grimacing as she felt a headache coming on. She asked, "Hey, if you see Elise, can you tell her that I'm out in the garden?"

The servant nodded, and JJ dashed from the library and made her way outside, the fresh air dispelling the headache almost instantly.

_I wonder if the magic is what's causing these headaches, _she mused, as she made her way to a large tree in a corner of the garden and flopping down in the grass beneath its boughs, leaning back against the trunk and glancing down apprehensively at the letter. After a moment, when she was certain her headache would not return, she broke the seal and read.

'_My dear,_

_I hope this letter finds you in good health and contentment, and I reiterate my desire to remain in comfortable relations with you; that is why I make this request as a friend, not as a suitor._

_I am sure you are aware of the upcoming holiday, Midsummer's Night? It is a time when members of every Court in the Underground gather in the Western Forests to celebrate the Summer Solstice. Undoubtedly, my cousin will be attending with his Goblin Market, but I was hoping that you would attend as my escort, rather than his, seeing as how he will most likely be announcing his engagement to the Princess on that night. I would be honored to have your company, and I promise it will be a night you will remember fondly._

_I await your response, and remain yours,_

_Nathair' _

Suddenly a blur of white and brown feathers snatched the letter from her hands, and the Barn Owl landed in the grass a few feet away from her, pinning the parchment beneath its talons.

JJ raised an eyebrow at the bird and scolded, "That's not very polite."

The Owl shrugged with its wings, then hopped over and hopped up on her lap, cocking its head at her sideways.

"Oh Owl," she moaned, folding it in her arms and holding it as close as possible without hurting it, "That letter was from Nathair… he wants me to go out with him, but I don't know if I want to. He's nice and all, but I just don't know if I feel _that_ way about him… and it's been such a bad week besides. I got into a fight with Jareth, and I don't even know why. I mean, I know _why,_ but I don't understand why he was so angry. I want to tell him sorry, but I don't feel ready… to be honest, I'm scared to face him again."

The Owl cooed sympathetically and snuggled closer, ruffling his feathers slightly when a tear escaped from the corner of JJ's eye and dropped onto its head.

She wiped the tear away with an apology, then sighed, "And that's not even the worst of it. Things have been happening to me all week, little things that are just too perfect to be coincidence, things that I want to happen, and every time they do, I get this awful headache. And then this morning, well… watch," she helped him to climb up on her shoulder as she got to her feet, and then held out her hand.

It took even longer than the last time; her fingertips burned as if blistered, and the headache came on again in full force, but a crystal, cloudy and fragile as an egg shell, appeared, nestled in the curve of her fingers.

The Owl's beak fell open in a very human expression of shock, and leaned so far forward that he fell off her shoulder and landed on the ground with a thump and a squawk.

The crystal crumbled into dust as JJ's concentration went to the Owl, and she picked him up, "I'm sorry! Are you okay? I didn't mean to--"  
Her apology was cut short as the Owl that she cradled in her arms suddenly became the Goblin King, looking as near to panic as he was capable. He still stared at her with the Owlish expression of shock, and JJ was on the far side of alarmed herself, not even noticing that her arms were now around his waist in what would have been an affectionate manner, if not for the look of horrified embarrassment on her face.

"You?! You were the Owl, this whole time?!"

"How did you do that?! No human is capable of summoning crystals; not even if you lived a hundred years, you should never be able to perform crystal magic! How did you do it?!"

"I asked you first!!"  
He growled, "Fine! Yes, I was the Owl. The entire time. Now," he raised his hands to grip her shoulders, "How did you do that?"

JJ's embarrassment quickly turned to anger, "You-- you sneaky, under-handed, feather-brained _bastard!_ I talked to you, poured my heart out to you!! How could you not tell me who you were?!"

Before the Goblin King could answer, Elise and Lucian arrived.

Elise's jaw dropped, and Lucian grinned, "Oh," he purred, "We're not interrupting anything, are we?"  
JJ realized that her arms were still around Jareth's waist, and she jerked away as if burned, slapping his hands away from her shoulders none too gently, but Jareth grabbed her wrist and held her still, "The more important question is, why didn't you tell me about this before?!"

"Well, why did you yell at me when I didn't even know what I did wrong?!"

Elise winced at JJ's shout, and nudged Lucian's arm subtly. Taking the hint, the Shadowlord and the maid discretely vanished, leaving JJ and Jareth glaring at each other beneath the tree.

After a moment, Jareth relented, releasing JJ's wrist and taking a step back, "I… was worried. Terrified, actually. Only a handful of mortals, in the entire history of the human race, have been able to touch a Unicorn and remain intact. The others were either killed, or worse, driven insane. However, they were all motivated by greed, and I knew you well enough to know that was not your reasoning."

JJ stared at him, "You were worried about me?" she questioned.

"Yes. I've grown rather fond of you, JJ, and had anything happened to you, I… I overreacted, though. And I'm sorry for that."

After a long pause, JJ admitted, "I'm sorry, too," she sighed, "I shouldn't have shouted right back, and I shouldn't have avoided you afterwards instead of trying to make amends. Forgive me?"  
When he nodded, she hugged him briefly, before he pushed away slightly to get a good look at her face, studying her with the intensity of a concerned doctor, "Now, tell me everything," he ordered gently, "Every little strange thing that's happened this week; most importantly the things that cause your head to hurt."

* * *

_Reviews are the fuel that feed this monstrosity, people._


	19. Lessons and Tulgey Woods

_In Which we learn interesting stuff, and then we have a cliffhanger_

_Please ignore me, I'm so sleep-deprived right now it's not even funny. Ok, maybe a little funny..._

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* * *

_**Lessons and Tulgey Woods**

Days passed after that fateful morning, and JJ lost track of them, as hours upon hours disappeared into books, lessons on magic, and increasingly common headaches.

Elise and Nobbiggo continued educating her in the history and customs of the Underground; after she was released from the library (usually by the time the sun had set), Jareth immediately spirited her away to his study, which had become a makeshift classroom.

"Try it again."

JJ groaned aloud and buried her face in her arms, "Please, no more… my head's about to split open!"

"Stop complaining," he chided, "It's most unbecoming. Your head hurts because your body is fighting the magic. The sooner you master your new abilities, the sooner the headaches will cease."

"It's been hours," the human whimpered, peering up at him pitifully, "And they're just getting worse."  
Jareth surveyed the powdery residue of her failed crystal experiments, and remarked grimly, "And so are your crystals. Summon one that does not shatter at the first sideways glance, and you can go."

"But I don't want to learn Magic," she protested, "I was perfectly fine without it! Can't you just teach me how to _not_ do this kind of stuff so I can go back to being a normal human being?"  
He shook his head, "I considered that option, but it's far too dangerous to ignore this situation. If you do not learn to control it, you could severely injure yourself. Once it becomes second nature to you, you'll be able to ignore it all you like, but until then," he motioned for her to continue on.  
JJ whimpered again and thumped her head against the desk.

Jareth took pity on her, and added, "Master the basics of magic, and I'll teach you how to fly."

She did not raise her head, but she did ask, "Fly?"

"Yes. I'll teach you how to transform into a bird, and fly. But you have to be able to summon a strong crystal, first."

With a sigh, JJ sat up, and propped her elbow on the desk, holding her hand out in front of her. She ignored the burning in her fingers and the increased pounding in her head, and managed to form one of her cloudy crystals, willing it to be stronger than the previous attempts.

"It's still cloudy," she said, a bit disappointed, and Jareth nodded, "I see that. This one also seems to be darker in color than the rest. Let me have it."  
She held it out to him, cringing in anticipation of the glittery explosion that happened every time Jareth's fingers met the smooth surface.  
She was not disappointed.

Jareth sighed and brushed the silver-grey dust off of his shirt, "And again," he insisted, but if his tone was any indication, he was beginning to grow just as tired as the beleaguered human.

JJ scowled at the space above her fingers where the crystal would form, thinking, _I swear, if you break this time, I'll--_

The Goblin King's sudden proximity broke her threatening concentration, his hands moving to her shoulders, bare fingers resting against the skin below her neck.

"You're trying too hard," he murmured, "Crystal magic is not something for you to wrestle into submission. It's an art, you must be gentle with it."

He cupped one hand around hers and molded her fingers into a more relaxed position.

"Now, feel for the crystal," he instructed, "Don't _will_ it to be there, just feel that it's there. Smooth and cool against your skin; solid and a little heavier than you would expect."

Had she been asked, JJ would have admitted to not even thinking about the crystal, even as it formed.

Jareth's nearness sent her heart fluttering, the tension bled from her muscles at his touch, and suddenly, summoning a crystal was as natural as drawing breath.

Jareth's quiet instruction fell silent when the sphere formed, solid and very nearly as clear as his own. When he took it from her, it did not shatter, and he stood straight, rolling the orb over his fingers experimentally.

JJ shivered slightly as his touch left her shoulder, and asked, "Did you do that on purpose?"

"I did nothing," he answered, his brow furrowing slightly, "Somehow, you managed to channel your magic through me.

He handed the crystal back to her, and she set it on the desk, staring at it apprehensively.

"I don't know how much weirder I can take," she announced, and Jareth managed a chuckle, "Perhaps next time you'll think twice before touching a unicorn, hmm?"

"I'll say. Um, can I go now? Or does that not count because I used your magic?"  
"You didn't use my magic," Jareth clarified, pulling her chair out as she stood, "Merely focused your own through me. Unorthodox, but acceptable. You may go. Be sure to practice tomorrow, and when I--"  
She dashed from the study as soon as the word 'go' left his mouth, and he laughed quietly, waving a hand and causing the remains of dozens of shattered crystals to disappear.

"I'm glad to see you two have made your peace," Amalthea's quiet voice said, as she appeared sitting in Jareth's chair.

The Goblin King smiled a bit ruefully, "Yes, but you already knew that would happen."  
"Now, there's the interesting thing," Amalthea answered, her blindfolded gaze fixing upon him even as her hand reached out and took the crystal from its resting place, "Lucian told me about your little disagreement, so I decided to have a look and see exactly how long you two would insist on acting like silly geese. And you'll never guess what I found."  
Her brother arched his eyebrow, but did not give her the satisfaction of vocalizing his curiosity, so she continued, "Her future pages are blank. As are her present pages. Nothing has been Written since the instant she touched the Unicorn, not even your intervention. It's almost as if she ceased to exist in that very moment."  
"And yet, there she is," Jareth murmured, "Bending my castle to her will and blatantly ignoring the fact that what she's doing is impossible."

"Indeed. When I found no answers in her Book, I went to Bandia. She explained that the Labyrinth asked her to give JJ power, promising to intercede, to prevent the magic from overcoming her. Every day, the Labyrinth allows a little bit of that magic into her, allowing her body to adjust to the change."  
"Yes, I've already established that the headaches are caused by her body fighting it, but _why_ did the Labyrinth want to give her this power?"

Amalthea seemed to stare into the crystal, "Remember, when she first came here? I looked ahead in her Book, when the pages weren't blank… the possibilities of her destiny were endless and blinding in their potential, but one factor never changed, no matter what path her future took. Do you recall what that was?"  
He nodded, "You said the Labyrinth was becoming fond of her. That's not unheard of--"  
"I think it's Claiming her, Jareth."

The Goblin King stared at the Librarian with shock, "_Claiming_ her?! That's not possible, she's a mortal! It can't be done, by the Labyrinth's own laws!"

Amalthea held the crystal out to him, "Do you honestly believe the Labyrinth would allow a pesky little thing like mortality stop It?"

Understanding twisted his features into a grimace as he took the crystal, "The magic linked when we touched… That's why this crystal didn't shatter. She wasn't just channeling my strength, she was bonded--"

"You have to tell her," Amalthea warned, "Before she finds out the hard way."

He sighed, heavily, "I will. As soon as I find the solution to this, I promise, I will tell her."  
"You assume there _is_ a solution. Jareth, you of all people should know better than to deny the Labyrinth of what it wants-- of what it _needs_."  
"I'm giving it what it _needs_," he growled, "As much as I am loathe to do so!"  
"Then it would appear, dear brother, that your choice does not comply with that of your Realm. You can blame no one but yourself, you know. The Labyrinth approved your first choice, but then you failed to deliver."

He glowered at her but did not deny her statement. Instead, he promised, "I will tell her, Amalthea, when she is ready. Until then, I will continue to teach her. She's too much of a hazard to herself if I do not."

***

The following afternoon, JJ was interrupted from her studies by one of the servants informing her that Jareth wanted her to change into riding attire and meet him down at the stables.

She quickly exchanged her dress for her jeans and her t-shirt, and ran down to the stables.

She found Jareth as a stable hand gave him the reins of a large palomino horse.

"Good afternoon," the Goblin King said with a grin as she approached, "One of the Labyrinth sentries reported a break in the Northern Wall, I'm riding out to repair it. Would you like to accompany me?"

Another stable hand led out a dark, dapple gray mare, and JJ nodded excitedly, "I'd love it! It's been years since I last rode a horse!"

Jareth chuckled, "I thought you might appreciate the opportunity."

JJ approached the horse, and allowed the stable hand to help her up into the saddle, which she noticed was quite unlike the style that she was used to.

Tapping the pommel with a finger, she asked, "Why is there a second horn so low on the side?"  
"It's a sidesaddle," Jareth explained, "Ladies of the Court do not sit astride."

Raising an eyebrow at him, JJ replied, "I should've known this would be another one of those 'learning' things…"  
"Of course. What is life, if not a lesson itself?"

Resignedly, JJ did her best to sit in the saddle properly, even though years of lessons with a traditional Western Saddle balked at the idea of a sidesaddle.

When Jareth was finally convinced that she would remain on the horse, they left the stables and headed for the outer wall of the Labyrinth.

The ride lasted for a good couple of hours, during which JJ finally asked, "Why are we riding, anyways? Can't you just glitter-poof there, fix the wall, and then poof back?"  
"Fixing a wall in the Labyrinth is not a matter of simple masonry," The Goblin King explained, "It will require a great deal of my magic, and leave me unable to perform even the simples of tasks for a few hours afterwards."  
"Why is that?"

"Because simply replacing the stones will not heal the Labyrinth. The magic that binds it together must be repaired as well, and in order to do that, I must use my own energy. When I became Goblin King, my magic was bound to the Labyrinth, as It was bound to me. A symbiotic relationship, if you will."  
"Oh," JJ answered, understanding, "You tap into Its power to be your badass Goblin King self, and in return, it taps into your power when it needs help?"  
Jareth nodded, "Exactly. The Labyrinth is only as strong as Its King."

"So who will become Goblin King when Auberon retires and you take the High Throne? Whoever is next in line?"

Jareth hesitated imperceptibly, "It's… not quite that Cut-and-Dried. I did not inherit the Labyrinth the way I will inherit my Father's title. It had to accept me, deem me worthy. Had I failed Its challenge, than I would not have received the title of Goblin King."

JJ's eyebrows raised slightly, "Its challenge-- you had to run the Labyrinth to become Its King?"  
"Without the use of magic."

"Oh wow," she chuckled, "Too bad we can't do that in my world. Election Day would be so much more interesting. 'You have thirteen hours to reach the center of the Labyrinth and win the Office'. They could raise funds by selling tickets and popcorn."

Jareth smirked, "It would certainly test the mettle of your politicians. Ah, here we are."  
The two horses stopped in front of a large gap in the outer wall of the Labyrinth. A large black tree had fallen across the wall, collapsing a section wide enough to drive a carriage through.

Jareth dismounted, a grim look on his face, and JJ followed suit, going up to the gap and peering through.

On the other side lay a forest in autumn, even though the rest of the Labyrinth was quite obviously budding into summer. The dark trunks of the trees were sharp in contrast to the brightly colored leaves that whirled and danced in a crisp breeze that smelled of apples and rotting leaves; the kind of smell that brought to mind raking the yard, and taking walks while bundled into a jacket as the sunlight made the fallen leaves glow and sparkle, and all the other pleasant things that usually came with Autumn.

JJ couldn't help but notice, however, that there was something wrong about the otherwise picturesque forest. The tree trunks were black with mold, the leaves falling from their branches like rain. There was something bitter and decidedly unpleasant in the sweet apples-and-leaves smell, and a feeling that the cold wasn't caused by the weather made the back of her neck prickle.

"Jareth… what is that forest?"  
Jareth focused on removing the tree from the gap, using his magic to make it vanish and then reappear a few yards away on the ground.

"It's the Tulgey Wood," he answered, kneeling on the ground beside the crumbled stones and working his magic on them.

JJ's brow furrowed, "Tulgey… why does that sound so familiar?"

The Goblin King paused in his work to flash her a wicked grin, "_And the Jabberwock, with eyes aflame, came whiffling through the Tulgey Wood, and burbled as he came."_

"Oh my god! _That_ Tulgey Wood?!" She stared into the gap with a newfound sense of awe and fear, "Is there a Jabberwocky in there?"

"Occasionally," Jareth answered, waving his hand and replacing one of the stones into the wall, "You remember the Wayfarer's Grave, how it's made up of broken dreams? Well, the Tulgey Wood is made up of Nightmares. The most frightening creatures of the human subconscious find a home within that dark and foreboding place. It's that icy prickle down your spin, that quiet little voice in your head begging you to run as far and as fast as you can."

JJ stared at him worriedly, before dryly remarking, "You should be a real-estate salesman. I bet you'd be brilliant at it."  
He chuckled, but further reply was interrupted by the distant sound of a child crying.

"Jareth, there's a kid out there," JJ murmured, staring into the trees.

"That's not possible," he answered, his entire frame becoming rigid, "There are no Runners in the Labyrinth, and none of my subjects are foolish enough to venture into the Tulgey."

The cry sounded again, and this time, JJ started for the wall, "Impossible or not, there's no way I'm going to sit by while some little kid cries."  
She vaulted over the ruined stones, and ran in the direction of the cries, ignoring Jareth's furious shouts that followed after her.

The source of the cries kept changing, moving farther away, and within a few moments, she was completely turned around. She did her best to follow the sound, but with each step deeper into the forest, she berated herself, and hoped against hope that, for once, she wasn't wrong.

She was soon answered, however, when she reached a tiny clearing, in the middle of which stood a small child of about three or four, wearing a dress the colors of the leaves and smiling impishly.

JJ paused for a second to catch her breath, before asking, "Kid, what are you doing out here? It's not safe…"  
The little girl giggled, and held her hand out to JJ, tilting her head to one side, almost unnaturally far, and blinking large burgundy eyes at JJ.

"I'm lost," she said, her voice clear and innocent, but JJ felt the same sense of wrongness as she'd noticed in the scent of the breeze only moments before.

"Ok," JJ said, forcing the unease away, "Where do you live?"  
"I'm lost."  
She tilted her head again, except the other way, but the angle still very off-putting.

The redhead sighed patiently, "Come on. We'll get you back to the King and-- what the hell?!" she'd reached for the girl, but as soon as her fingers touched the child's hand, the child vanished, deteriorating into a pile of leaves with a demonic little giggle.

JJ stared at the pile with growing apprehension. The prickle in the back of her neck intensified, and she noted somewhat distantly that the forest was far too silent.

Her skin crawled as the new sense she'd gained from touching the Unicorn began to burn, warning her of something behind her, something powerful and magical and fully intending to harm her.

She cringed inwardly as it silently loomed over her, and it took her a long moment to work up the courage to turn around and face it, and when she finally did, she had to clap her hands over her mouth to stifle the scream.

Standing only a few feet away, with its mandibles twitching and dripping venom, its several pairs of eyes gleaming in the sun,, its carapace thick and armored, the size of a small house, was the biggest damn spider that she had ever seen in her entire life.

* * *

_"Hey, fanfic author: J.R.R. Tolkien called, he wants his Sheelob back."_

_Oh, and the Tulgey Wood isn't my fault. I was watching Alice in Wonderland. Tim Burton's. Which I love.  
_


	20. Words that Begin with 'M'

_In which Villainous Villains are Revealed_

_

* * *

_

**Investigating Words that begin with 'M'**

The spider stalked forward, silent despite its size, and JJ was quick to retreat from it, panicking and desperately looking around for a weapon or escape route. She was completely turned around, and even though she could hear Jareth yelling her name, his voice was distant, and terror stole the volume from her own voice as she tried to call to him for help.

With a hiss, the spider lurched towards her, as if daring her to run, clacking its mandibles loudly now.

JJ stumbled backwards as her foot caught a branch, but she managed to keep her balance, and after a thought, snatched up the branch and wielded it like a sword; but before she could really formulate a plan of action, she was roughly shoved behind the imposing figure of none other than Lord Nathair.

"_You can't have her,_" he growled threateningly, raising one hand and summoning a gold-tinted crystal and brandishing it the way JJ might have brandished a grenade.

To her surprise, the spider backed away, hissing, and JJ cringed when its sibilant voice seemed to echo in her head: _Thisss tasty morsel wandered into my trap, Fae lord, and you do not have the authority to deny me what has so willingly entered my domain._

Nathair's voice was lethally calm as he replied, "She belongs to the Labyrinth, golem. She has Its favor, and she is marked with protection by the King himself, and unless you wish to challenge the Goblin King's claim on a Dreamer, I strongly recommend you resign yourself to less expensive faire."

The spider grumbled and twitched in agitation, but after a minute long stare-down, it gave an about face and ambled away in defeat.

Nathair waited until it was out of site before turning to JJ and gathering her into his arms, gently scolding, "You foolish, mad woman, what in all of the Underground possessed you to go into the Tulgey Wood on your own?!"

JJ did not bother to protest the emotional show of affection, realizing how much she need to be held at that moment, mainly because she felt as if she'd fall over. She leaned into his embrace, as the stick she'd grabbed fell to the ground and her fingers grasped the folds of his jacket to stop her hands from trembling, rasping a quiet, "Thank you," when she was finally able to find her voice, "I was with Jareth, he's fixing a wall, and I heard a kid crying, but I guess it was a trap, because the kid disappeared and then that spider was there and-- oh, Jareth is going to be _pissed."_

Nathair laughed, and held her to him, resting his chin and her head and rubbing her back, comfortingly, "Dearest, sweetest, silliest girl… you nearly become lunch for a golem, and you're worried about Jareth being angry?"  
"Yes. What's a golem?"  
"A nature spirit," he answered, pulling back to look at her, but not releasing her, "The ones that dwell in the Tulgey Wood are evil, flesh-eating monsters that take on the form of what its victims fear most. They're powerful, but not powerful enough to challenge the Labyrinth. I'm surprised at the boldness of that one, though… You're obviously under a spell of protection."  
JJ frowned, "How can you tell?"  
"I can see Jareth's magic in you. His has a rather… unique aura."

"Oh. Well, he--"  
The 'he' in question chose that moment to appear, storming towards the two rather fiercely, and demanding an explanation for JJ's 'inability to follow even the simplest of instructions'; however his tirade halted as he caught sight of his cousin.

"Nathair," he greeted, coolly, his eyes narrowing slightly, his mouth setting into a grim line, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"  
Nathair gave his most charming smile, and JJ mentally scolded herself when her heart misbehaved.

_You don't like him like that, I don't care how nice his smile is--_

"Well, it seems as if my mission today was to save a damsel in distress," he answered, lowering one arm but keeping the other around JJ's shoulders, protectively, "Other than that, I'm here on your father's orders. He insisted that I should come down here and assist you in preparations for the Goblin Market."

Jareth glared, "Well, if my father _insists_, then I suppose there's nothing for it. As for the damsel," the glare turned on JJ, "Perhaps if she would pay attention to lessons previously learned, she would require less saving and therefore be less distressing."

JJ glared, "If you're referring to that thing with the Kelpie, then I have to point out that this was an _entirely_ different situation--"

Nathair interrupted, "May we avoid any arguments today, Cousin? In spite of her bravado, the poor girl is trembling, I doubt a serving of your wrath is what she needs at the moment."

Jareth's glare softened slightly, and he nodded in consent, "Very well. We shall discuss this later, then, July. Until then, Nathair will escort you back to the castle, and you will speak with the servants about preparing one of the guest rooms for him, and you are _not_ to leave his sight until I return. Do I make myself clear?"  
"Perfectly," JJ answered, managing a rueful and somewhat shaken smile. Jareth's expression softened even more, and he shook his head at her, "What am I to do with you?"

He returned to repairing the wall, and JJ mounted her horse once more, she noticed that Nathair was without a mount, and she asked, "How did you get here? I thought the Labyrinth prevented people from teleporting in?"

Nathair took the horse's bridle and began leading it back towards the castle, "I flew."  
"Oh! You turn into an owl, too? Can all Fae do that?"  
"Not an owl. The type of animal is unique to the person. However, only Royalty or Nobility can transform into a bird of prey. People of lower stations transform into other animals."  
"So," JJ clarified, "A lord, like you, can turn into an owl, but a peasant could turn into, say, a starling?"  
Nathair nodded, "Yes. It's a status symbol."  
"Geeze, you Fae and your status," JJ teased, and then she asked, "Did Auberon really send you here to help with the Goblin Market?"

"That was his official request, yes," he answered, "However, I suspect it has more to do with his desire to see Jareth and I make amends. Apparently, our civility to each other last time I was here gave him the impression that we were repairing our relationship."  
JJ raised an eyebrow, "Aren't you?"  
Nathair sighed, "Lady July, I'm certain you've noticed, my cousin isn't always the easiest to get along with."

"I get along with him just fine… when he's not angry, or smug… ok, so that's not often, but he's a really nice guy when we are getting along."

"You are kind to him," Nathair remarked, almost wistfully, " Jareth has always had a habit of manipulating people, and he is quite often oblivious to the emotions of others, as I'm certain you've noticed."  
JJ grimaced, "I can't deny that, but I also can't overlook his good qualities, either. He's been more than generous, and he hasn't denied me anything that I need. He could have done whatever he wanted with me, and I know that there's not a lot I can do about it, but he makes certain that I'm comfortable, and he's gone out of his way to make sure that I find friends among his Court. So, even when he _is_ a smug, temperamental bastard, I can't say that he's not a good guy."

"You think so highly of him," Nathair chuckled, "Most in your position would see him in a more villainous light."  
"I did, at first," JJ admitted, "But, as he pointed out, it's not his fault that I'm here. He saved my life, gave me a home, and took away the nightmares."  
Nathair took a sudden keen interest, "Nightmares? What nightmares?"  
"When I first got here, I kept having really intense nightmares. He said someone sent them to me, but I never could think of a reason why. That protection spell you mentioned, that was to take them away."

"The why is quite obvious," Nathair answered, "Places like the Tulgey Wood become stronger when the Wished Away have nightmares. If Jareth did not take steps to ensure that the Wished Away were nightmare free for the most part, the Labyrinth would be darker and much more dangerous than it is now, and all of its beauty would be lost."  
JJ thought of the Cherry Tree grove, and frowned, "I can't imagine that… I don't _want_ to imagine that."

Nathair nodded, "Before Jareth became King, the Labyrinth was overrun with monsters and evil spirits. The Wished Aways, the Dreamers, were all enslaved humans that dreamt of nothing but anguish and fear, and the entire Labyrinth was rotting from the darkness. But Jareth changed all of that when he took the throne."

JJ thought on that for a moment and looked down at Nathair to answer, but was reminded of the fact that he was walking while she rode, and that it had taken her and Jareth quite some time to reach the Northern Wall.

"Nathair," she said, reining in her horse, "It's a long walk back to the castle… you should probably get up here with me."

Nathair smiled and shook his head, "Fae have more stamina than humans, my Lady, you don't need to trouble yourself."  
"It's no trouble, and I would feel guilty if you had to walk the whole way," she protested.

"Well, I would hate to make a lady feel guilty," he chuckled. JJ shifted so she was riding astride, and pulled herself further up on the saddle, allowing him to mount up behind her.

She squeaked in surprise when his arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her back against him, and he laughed, "Relax, my dear, I'm just ensuring that you will not fall."

JJ swallowed nervously, "Oh, well--"  
"If it makes you uncomfortable, I can resume walking."  
"No, no, it's fine."

She forced herself to relax, and they spent the rest of the ride in polite conversation.

Back at the Castle, after Nathair had been shown to his room, Elise pounced on JJ as she made her way to her own.

"Did you enjoy your afternoon?" she asked, grinning impishly and hooking her arm through JJ's.

Blushing, JJ answered, "Yes, I did. Up until some giant spider thing tried to eat me and--"

"What?!" Elise stopped and forced JJ to face her, "What giant spider?!"  
"In the Tulgey Wood. But it's ok, because it didn't even touch me, and Jareth would've been there in a minute, but Nathair got to me first--"  
"Ooh! He _rescued _you? Miss JJ, that is just too perfect for words!"  
"Elise!"  
"Did he sweep you off your feet? Catch you as you swooned in gratitude?"  
JJ glared, "Now you're just being ridiculous."

"I can't help it," Elise sighed, "I'm a hopeless romantic. Oh, speaking of romantic, Phillip's performing at the Goblin Market come Midsummer's Night. Want to hear him practice when he gets off duty?"

Grateful for the sudden topic change, JJ nodded, "I'd love to!"  
"Perfect!" Elise let go of her arm and started off down the hall, explaining over her shoulder, "I've got some duties left to finish; I'll come and get you after dinner!"  
JJ waved her off with a grin, then went to her own room and collapsed on her bed.

Without Nathair's conversation or Elise's exuberance to distract her, the gravity of how close she'd come to death for the third time since her entry into the Labyrinth settled on her, and she cringed inwardly at the possibilities of how the encounter could have gone.

After a moment of dwelling on the various gore-ridden scenarios, she shook herself out of her morbid imaginings, and took a bath, before settling down on the sun-warmed window seat to take a catnap.

She was awoken from her nap by Jareth's hand on her shoulder, and she drowsily scooted sideways to make room for him to sit.

He looked tired, and somehow diminished, and JJ asked, "Are you alright?"

"I hurried to finish repairing the wall after you left with Nathair," He explained, "I may have exerted myself a bit farther than needed, though."  
"And you scold me for being reckless," she muttered, and he laughed quietly.

"Yes, but mine merely results in some minor exhaustion which will be remedied after an hour or so, whereas yours usually requires a dramatic rescue," his tone took on a serious note, "I've never been so grateful to see Nathair in my entire life."  
"You should tell him that," JJ remarked, "Might help rebuild some bridges."  
His narrowed his eyes at her, "You've been plotting with my father, haven't you."  
"No, I just don't like to see two people that I get along with at odds with each other, it makes me uncomfortable."

"Hmm. And exactly how well are you getting along with Nathair?"

JJ grimaced as her cheeks reddened, "Jeeze, between you and Elise, I'm never going to get any peace on the matter."

He smirked, but then solemnly added, "July, I don't want you to use your magic in front of Nathair, or even allow him to guess at its existence."  
"Why not? Don't you trust him?"  
"My trust or distrust of him has nothing to do with it," he answered, "But at this stage, you're very… delicate. With all that power forcing itself into your body, you are under a lot of stress, even if you don't realize it, and the wrong thing whispered into the wrong ears could mean disaster for you."  
JJ grimaced, "This is about that political intrigue crap again, isn't it."  
"Isn't it always? I promise, once we have everything figured out, and once I'm not so concerned over the idea of your own magic destroying you, then we can be done with the secrecy. Until then, I beg you to use discretion.

JJ nodded agreeably, and he patted her on the shoulder with a grin, standing and starting for the door, but JJ stopped him by asking on impulse, "Hey… why did happen between you and Nathair?"  
Jareth seemed to think on it for a moment, before answering, simply, "He tried to take something that was mine."

He disappeared then, and JJ glared at the spot he'd vacated, grumbling, "Oh sure. Answering enigmatically and then glittering away like a magnificent poof is _totally_ enough explanation, your Majesty."

That evening, after a pleasant dinner with Jareth, Nathair, and Lucian (who insisted that JJ sit between him and Jareth, despite Nathair's obvious intent to be near her), she met Elise and followed her down to the gardens.

She heard the music before she saw the musicians. Though soft and melodic, there was a raw and wild flavor to it that seemed to pull all of JJ's nerves taught and make her muscles ache with longing.

She recognized Phillip, sweeping a bow across the strings of a fiddle with energy that seemed too reckless to produce the sweet notes that the strings sang.

Others were there as well, playing strange instruments, though JJ did recognize one of the instruments, a witch drum, played by a young human girl.

What really captured her attention, however, was Taryn, the orange-haired Elf from the kitchens, playing what appeared to be two small wooden flutes attached to one mouth piece.

Her fingers flew over the notes with ease of a born musician, and the dual voice of the instrument seemed to go straight to JJ's blood, making her want to run, dance jump, anything, just _move_ in time with it. However, she managed to keep herself still, even though it felt as if she'd fall to pieces from the effort.

Something itched in the back of her mind, some fact squirming beneath the cobwebs of her consciousness, and she focused on it, dragging it to the front of her thoughts. Once it became clear, she gasped at the realization: The Labyrinth was singing.

It could not be heard, but she felt it, in blood, nerve and bone. The Labyrinth was singing, blending its inaudible voice with the music.

Finally, the song ended, and JJ took a deep breath, releasing it with a sigh of relief. Elise noticed, and apologized, "I'm sorry, I forget what Fairy music can do to humans."  
"Don't apologize," JJ rasped, her hands slowly unclenching themselves from the hem of her shirt, though she'd not been aware of gripping the material in the first place, "That was-- Taryn!"  
The other musicians had begun to disband, but the Elf hesitated at JJ's call, "Yes, Miss?"  
JJ resisted the urge to run to her, opting instead to walk calmly over, "It's Magic, isn't it? That music, it's not _just_ music?"  
Phillip, kneeling on the ground to wrap his violin into a soft cloth and placing it in a case, chuckled, "Music _is_ Magic, my lady," he answered, "But you're right: Our instruments are enchanted. Especially Taryn's."

Taryn grinned, "Leprechaun-made instruments tend to bring out the best in music," she giggled, "I'm glad you enjoyed it, Miss."  
Phillip added, "King Jareth lets us play for the dancers at the Goblin Market. Things tend to get a bit more… energetic, than at a typical ball."  
"Energetic," Elise chuckled, "You play half as well as you did tonight, and things will get absolutely rowdy."  
Phillip grinned at the praise and kissed her on the nose, which caused her to blush and giggle, and JJ smirked at her, before turning to Taryn, "Could you teach me?"  
Taryn shrugged and nodded, "Leprechaun pipes aren't as difficult as they look. The real trick is putting your soul into the playing, but," she winked, "I'm sure you'll manage that."

Late that night, Lisan was seated in front of her vanity mirror, releasing her hair from its elaborate braids, when she was startled by her reflection rippling and twisting into a shadowy form.

She shrieked in surprise, but the familiar voice of her lover prevented her panic from escalating.

"Oh dear, did I startle you, love?" he asked, not sounding repentant in the least.

She glared, and then pouted, "Nathair, shouldn't you be busy, wooing that little mortal pet of Jareth's?"

Nathair's reflection shrugged, "It won't take that much effort. She's resistant to my," here, he smirked, "Charming personality, but only just."  
"Perhaps you should strengthen it," Lisan suggested, glancing at his chest, where she knew the small, pendulum-cut ruby hung from a silver chain beneath his shirt.

Nathair shook his head, "No. Any more, and Jareth will notice, I'm trying to get in his good graces."  
Lisan sighed, "I still don't understand why you don't kill him."

"Because," he explained, patiently, "If I do that, then the Labyrinth will be without a ruler. When you marry Jareth, you will become the Goblin Queen, and when an unfortunate accident befalls Jareth, and you turn to me for comfort, I will take my place as your husband, and become the obvious choice for High King out of default. I've told you this a hundred times, my lovely."  
"I know, I'm just getting impatient. It'd be easier if you'd let me do away with that pesky human," she pouted again.

He chuckled, "Don't worry, Princess. If she proves to be unworthy of the effort, I'll let you have your way with her. Though, a golem in the Tulgey might wish to contest your claim. He was rather disappointed when I rescued the little fool from him."  
Lisan made a disgusted noise, "_I'm_ disappointed. She's not all that interesting."

"I'm not as certain of that," he mused, "First the Labyrinth taking such a liking to her, and then the Unicorn. Now that I am close to her, I should be able to bypass Jareth's little protection spell on her dreams. I'll send her some nightmares tonight to flush out any secrets she may be keeping."

Lisan giggled and blew a kiss at the mirror, "Make them deliciously disturbing, love," she simpered, "For me."

* * *

_Yes. Nathair. I know, everyone is absolutely shocked, right? Yes? Anyway. As for the title, Tarrant Hightopp, AKA Tim Burton's Mad Hatter, is my savior for this round. As I was trying to name the chapter, all the words that I kept coming up with began with 'M'. So there we are. XD_


End file.
